


Wait For It//Sequel to Shooting Stars

by Lovely_Lani



Series: Star McClain Series [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Multi, starmcclainseries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 17:30:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12487064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovely_Lani/pseuds/Lovely_Lani
Summary: ⭐Sequel to Shooting Stars⭐"Mr. McClain, please come to your daughter's school, there's been a problem."What has she gotten herself into this time?________________Star McClain, resident troublemaker and her brothers are back for the third and final book in the Star McClain series! Join Star, her brothers Leo and Lucas, Emersyn , Shano, and others for the adventure of a lifetime.There is a lot of cursing in this book, be careful and tread lightly





	1. 1-Quiznak

"Mr. McClain, please come to your daughter's school, there's been a problem."

Twelve thirty, two weeks before the Garrison kids got out for winter break, a 37 year old Lance McClain sighed as he headed out to his car. What the actual fuck had Lucas-no Star gotten herself into this time?

Star had a track record of doing some pretty bad stuff, and was nearing a track record like her dad. While she wasn't Lucas -who was probably that close to being kicked out of the Garrison- she had a history of speaking her mind, and resorting to fighting when things didn't go her way. Whether it was because they stayed in the castle until she was seven and had already watched both of her parents fight for hours on end, or even genes, Lance might never know. His only daughter was confusing.

He pulled up to the school and the routine security check before heading inside, beelining for the office. He passed by familiar classrooms and then Leo's classroom before hesitating at the office door. In the worst case scenario, Star had probably broken either her own bones, someone elses, or both. In the best case scenario, she had been chucking pencils at a kid she didn't like again. Or possibly it was that she hadn't gotten a haircut, they actually had regulations for stuff like that, surprisingly.

Twisting the doorknob, four people looked up to meet his gaze, two of which he didn't recognize, Star, and the guidance conseulor. He saw so much of this conseulor, for all three children, Leo because at first they thought he was mute when he didn't speak for a week before they started simulators.

Looking to Star, her hair was mussed and a bandage was on her cheek, soaking itself in blood. Her lavender eyes darted away from him and towards they other two children, both were fair in skintone and had blonde hair and blue, piercing eyes. There was a bulkier man with them, matching in all qualities who looked like he had just come from a game of golf.

Someone was going to die if they thought putting Star next to the person who had provoked her was a good idea. He or this other man would have to prevent a homocide if he didn't do anything.

"I trust you have an idea of what happened today, Mr. McClain?" The man asked.

"Can't say that I do, Mr....." He trailed off, beckoning for him to give him his last name.

"Tiensen."

"Okay then, Mr. Tiensen. Lance McClain, I'm going to assume you know my daughter?" He questioned, his voice a high-pitch by the end of his sentence.

"She's a fucking monster!" The boy of the two kids shouted. Lance saw Star's eyes flare in anger as she turned to look at him. "She gave my three different scars in three different places, kicked me multiple times-"

"And she gave me a concussion-"

"Shut your fucking mouth Olivia! You know your head only hurts because you're as mad as a hatter so take your meds!" Star shouted, as 'Olivia' moved towards her brother and father -he was going to assume they were related- in fear.

"We've suspended her and the Tiensen twins for a week. They can come back next week if they can settle their differences for Winter Break." The guidance conseulor said. He was pretty sure she was a pyschiatrist as well, they had taken very good care of Leo when the school had assumed he was mute. Turned out, in the end, that Leo just had a bad case of social anxiety. Charlie was kind but also never took no for an answer. No matter how far Star was on her bad side and he was on her good side, the punishment was always fair.

"What exactly happened?" He was completely confused. Star only hurt people when she was provoked, which was often, he wasn't going to lie, but she always had a good reason.

"Like I said, she attacked me! All I said was that I didn't like her shoes and she leapt on me like a wild animal!" Olivia said. The fear seemed forced, and everything about the situation seemed a little fishy.

Star didn't answer as she gritted her teeth. Lance knew she was willing herself to look away from the problem before she exploded, and he applauded her for that.

"I know that my kids and your daughter have had arguments and fights before. I would ask you to keep her away from them, but seeing that it is impossible, the next time this happens, I'm going to sue." Mr. Tiensen said. "It's to be determined depending on their injuries."

Of course, the chances of them actually being able to pay for the Tiensen's sueing them, was very low. When the kids weren't at school, they often worked jobs nearby the house to help pay for things around the house. Sending them to the Garrison wasn't cheap, and he knew that now. Possibly if only Star attended they wouldn't have to work odd hours after school, and no way in hell was he depriving his kids of learning. He and Keith hadn't even finished their years at the Garrison. He wanted to let them do so, Voltron finally put away.

He gulped before nodding, and beckoning a murderous-looking Star out of the office. He heard the boy say something, and before he knew it, he turned around to grab Star in an instant before she had leapt on top of him. "Star what the hell?!"

"Fucking asshole! You can't say shit about me like that!" He had to grab her before she struggled out of his grasp as she tried to attack the boy, his father standing defensively over both his children. Boy can't even defend himself against a girl, Lance laughed to himself. That was hilarious. And then he thought of Katie and then took that statement back.

Following him back to the car with her clothes and her backpack's worth of homework and clothing, she tossed herself into the front seat as he started the car. This was going to be an interesting conversation, Lance could already tell.

"So...do you want to tell me what happened?"

"No."

"Do you want to tell your Dad what happened?"

"I'm going to have to anyways, so fuck it." They had already given up on Star's language, she had picked it up from Katie and Keith, and didn't heed to teachers' warnings about it.

"You seemed pretty mad. What happened? Who are those kids?" he questioned. She sighed before answering.

"Fucking Tiensen twins. Fucking homophobes. Called me a fucking mutant and then insulted my parents and my family!? I swear to God I would've broken more than Oliver's dick if Mr. Sawyer hadn't seen me! And then they pass it off as a little offense on their part!?" At that point she was angry, fires blazing in her eyes. Oh yeah, Keith was going to be more than livid at the twins when he heard about it. But like he had to repeatedley tell both his husband and daughter, they couldn't punch their way out of everything.

"You can't punch your way out of everything. Violence isn't always the answer." He said. Star chuckled, tying her hair up.

"When did you become Uncle Shiro?" she asked. They both laughed.

"What happened to your cheek?" he asked. She touched the bandage before answering his question.

"Bitch scratched me. Apparently you can have nails as long as fangs."

"They didn't puncture anything, right?"

"Doubt it."

The rest of the way home was silent as she texted a few friends and he battled afternoon traffic. It was a little after twelve when he had left, and it was half past one when they got home. Star fell into the dash once she saw that Keith's car was in the driveway as they passed by the house. "I'm going to have to deal with him, aren't I?"

"Once you tell him your side of the story, we have to lock all the doors and shutter the windows because we'll have to prevent a homocide from happening." Lance said, smiling. Star laughed weakly before pulling her stuff out of the car and unlocking the front door.

"Lance?" He heard him call from the kitchen. "Where'd you go?"

Star took off her boots and left them by the front door, padding to the kitchen in her socks and shedding her Garrison-issued coat and hanging it on the coatrack. Fuming, she followed Lance into the kitchen. Keith's face fell after he saw his daughter exactly two hours before she was supposed to be home.

"What did you do?" Her eyes darted to Lance's, and he gave her a reassuring smile as she sat at the table, rattling off what had happened. By the time she had finished, Lance wasn't sure he should've been holding a kitchen knife right then. Star was their princess, and even though she continued to tell both of her she wasn't a maiden in need of saving, Keith would go to great lengths to protect her.

"Keith, we are not murdering two teenagers, got it?" Lance asked once he had put the knife down. Running a hand through his hair and washing his hands he sighed, the fire doused.

"When did you become Shiro?" Star laughed as Keith smiled.

"Just because I become more mature, you both assume I've become Shiro?"

They had moved right around when Star was seven and a half, and the twins were six. Star had a tearful goodbye with Emersyn and Shano before they left, and the Black and Red lions were 800 feet under the house. Whether Star, Leo, or Lucas was actually aware, Lance wouldn't put it past them. Recently, Hunk had introuced them to his son, Arrow, a human-Balmera hybrid, and Katie had recently adopted her son Robi. Lance was honestly worried for the future, whether the Galra returned or not. There were seven-next generation paladins now, two wouldn't pilot a lion, and thinking of his troubles when Keith had switched to Black, and Allura had become the Blue paladin, he had remembered believing that he would become irrelevant when Shiro came back. There was no way in hell he wanted any of the kids to go through that, it was hard enough on him, a seventeen year old middle child.

God he hoped it never came to that as he checked in with Leo and Lucas via their phones, and checked in with Star as she slept on the couch that night. Crawling into bed with his beloved, he allowed himself to become tangled with him once more, falling asleep with Keith in his embrace.

_____________

 

what even with this fucking fluff?

 

i like tho.

Word Count: 1759


	2. 2-Weekends

For those of you questioning the Tiensen' part in the plot, they won't exist for much longer, just because the plot swivels from them to something else *wink wonk*

Plus, if you see Shooting Stars updated, it's because I'm adding some parent stuff in there between chapters. I'm not lying, I honestly thought the book went to fast *shrugs*

Also check for cameos in this chap.!

______________

"You need to get up sleepy head." Star opened her eyes a week later to her best friend and roomate Mantia Rodrequiz, who often went by Mani. She had only gotten into trouble once, -unlike Star and her knack for finding trouble- when she had forgotten the rule on dying hair in the Garrison, and her hair had been pink for a month. "They're going to start dorm checks in an hour."

Star unwillingly got out of bed, blearily rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, trying to figure out where the fuck she actually was. Yesterday she had been eating Lucky Charms out of a box with her brothers while watching kiddie cartoons, and now it was Monday when she had returned to the school to catch a few hours of sleep before school started around six. She yawned before getting off the mattress and grabbing a hairtie, tying her hair up into a little less than a clean bun.

Mani was gorgeous, her dark brown hair hung around her shoulders and her eyes were a beautiful caramel as she did up her own hair, tying it into a little ponytail as she donned her Garrison uniform. At one point Star had a crush on her in middle school, and it had eventually ended when she {Star} caught wind of the adorable child that was Katie's adoptive son. To be honest, right now she didn't have time for love, at all.

After she returned from the showers a few minutes later, wringing out the mess that was her brown curls -no one was sure why both of her parents had straight hair and only she ended up with the uncontrollable curls- she donned her own Garrison uniform. They walked by Dawn's room, and checking her watch, Mani stopped by her door. This was their routine, they often always stopped by their friends' rooms before breakfast, so they could sneak in a fifteen minute group breakfast. Those in attendance were usually Star, Mani, Dawn, Ike, -Dawn's boyfriend- her brothers, and Kevin (who went by Kor, and was Leo's roommate).

Dawn eventually came out, sporting a short boy's cut. They talked among themselves as they walked downstairs. Eventually the question came up.

"Hey, why were you gone last week?" Mani asked, quiet.

"Tiensen twins and their homophob-iness." She answered solemnly as she unwrapped a muffin. "Basic stuff like that."

"You were suspended for a week?" Dawn asked. Star could almost hear the inaudible again from her.

"Yes." She mumbled through the blueberry muffin. "Lucky Charms and kiddy cartoons for an entire week, basically heaven on Earth."

"Understandable." Mani said, quietly laughing. Looking back to her friend, she asked "How often do you do that?"

"Not on purpose." She smiled sheepishly, licking to few remains of the muffin off her fingers. She waved to the others as they sat down with their mediocre breakfasts.

"Did your dad threaten to beat up a kid again?" Dawn asked. Scratching the back of her head on instinct, she nodded as Dawn and Mani laughed. Her brothers joined them, as did Ike and Kor. They talked and joked about the going-ons of the week she had been absent. The bell rang as they threw away their trash and headed to their specified classes. Star entered her first class, math-fucking-matics, and looked out the window to the ever-expanding desert. Like in those cliche animes, she sat in the back, but not because she was new, no, she was just a daydreamer. And lazy. And usually hating math, like always.

Turning away from the window after a tumbleweed blew by outside of school grounds, she turned to the designated pages of her math book. It was all algebra, in which Star always questioned who the fuck came up with putting the alphabet in math. Of course, her peers were always better at it, and she began doodling one of the lions in the corner of the math book. Her parents thought that none of their three children knew were the lions were, most likely hoping they'd be too young to question it.

Yeah no.

Star had known since she was seven and they had recently moved in when she couldn't sleep.

"How the hell did you even find a way to do that?"

"I have my ways."

"Yeah sure." Her father answered. She peeked around the corner that lead to the bedrooms -they were all on the first floor- as she took off her slippers and tried not to slip as she snuck around the dark home. She was deathly afraid of sleeping without her brothers nearby, the Galra leaving their imprint in her young mind. There was a scar her father hid under his bangs that had bled for hours after returning from a mission. Having a lighter skintone didn't help hiding it. Now he had his hair pulled away from his forehead, the red showing.

"There is no way in the galaxy they'll be able to find us or the kids now. We can take walks down the beach-"

"Which is two hundred miles from here,"

"Visit Yosemite-"

"It's hot as hell up there."

"Visit my family?" Her father hesitated before answering. Her paternal (or whatever) family lived a few cities down, and they visited them, or she and her family visited them. She hadn't seen Aunt Katie in a while, or the rest of her space family, though on other nights she had a basic idea of where they were. Her uncle, Hunk, was on the Balmera raising his son Arrow, and Katie was most likely nearby (as in somewhere on planet) with her son Robi. They had a few pictures of him, but after that she cut ties with them.

"Yeah, but we do that already."

"True." She covered her eyes as they leaned in for a kiss and dashed back down to her own room, lying on the comforter and messy sheets-

"Hey Ms. Griffin! There's something outside!" She heard the girl named Lauren Charlie say, as the others gathered around the window. Star leapt up from her book and rushed to an empty spot by the window, staring directly towards whatever it was they were looking at.

At first, she didn't notice anything but the sky and the clouds, but as a moment passed, her jaw dropped in fear.

Backing away from the window, she bumped into the wall, the fear rising up her throat as she fell to the corner.

Dad and papa can handle this, right?

Right?

Star don't doubt them, they've been doing this for over twenty years, they're fine.

What if they're after you? Or Leo? Or Lucas?

Fuck.

You can take a girl out of space.

You can't take the space out of the girl.

A voice came over the intercom "Teachers and staff lock your doors and have your students close the windows and hide underneath their desks. We are under lockdown."

Aboslutely fuckity fuck fuck. Mother of goddamned orange chicken, they were more than quiznaked.

Her entire family could die if she didn't tell her parents they were here.

__________________

Well! List of users with cameos/mentions in the chapter!

Manimatsu -Mani (will probably be in later chapters)

PrincessSunsetKlance -Dawn (may be in later chapters)

Ikethebrave -Ike obviously. (may be in later chapters)

NekoGriffin -Ms. Griffin (probably not)

ThatOneServant -Lauren Charlie (probably not, also I couldn't figure out what LCL stood for, so I guessed XD)

Pan-Demonium -Kevin (maybe?)


	3. 3-Fear

Fear was something Star McClain had never gotten used to. Even when she had stood up to one of Mani's bullies back in the sixth grade and her bully had been a foot taller than Star at the time.

 _"Why do you keep fighting other's battles? Star you need to be more careful, he could've done more than just give you a scar." She remembered her father asking, as he dipped a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol, it stung_.

_"If I'm supposed to be a defender of the universe one day, how the hell am I supposed to protect the universe if I can't even help my best friend?" She had asked, looking into a matching pair of purple eyes. He smiled weakly as he unwrapped a bandage and put it on her cheek._

_"Sometimes I see so much of your father in you." He had said, before giving her a hug and his jacket. For the rest of the day she ate out of the cereal box and watched T.V with her family._

But that was different. He had been one person.

The Galra were an entire army. And they were here now, causing the school to go on lockdown. Had they found the Black and Red lions? Was there a find-my-lion sort of app?

Okay that was dumb and she knew it, but she was  _that_  close to having an anxiety attack right then. Mani sat next to her, patting her on the back awkwardly, trying to help. Star weakly smiled as she slowly tore apart her bun, allowing her mocha-colored hair to fall around her shoulders. She blinked back tears, thinking of the last mission her parents had been on, right around when she was six, and her father had been put into a pod right after they'd come back home. It was scary to sit there, as only a small child, waiting for an entire day and a half for your father to be brought back to the world of the living, relying only on alien tech to heal him. Star had been crying when he came out and he hadn't left her side for the entire day.

That had been ten entire years ago, she had a kind-of normal childhood and prom was coming next year. She would graduate next year.

Or she wouldn't if she didn't get up now and alert her parents of the Galra's arrival.

But she couldn't. The school had been locked down. Her friends were in multiple classes, not to mention her brothers were a few floors down according to their schedules.

_Shit._

But she stood on shaking legs, what seemed like a million pairs of eyes locked onto her as she unlocked the door and swiftly left the classroom. Adrenaline ran through her veins as she heard Ms. Griffin shout for her as she dashed down the hall towards the stairs. The cool air whipped past her face as she darted for the dorms first, unlocking the door hastily as she grabbed her backpack, picking up her keys and phone, tossing off her Garrison coat and pants, then tossing on jeans with her phone in the pocket. Taking the stairs three at a time, she almost tripped by the time she arrived at Leo's classroom, trying to balance texting her dad and finding the right classroom all while holding a heavy ass backpack over her right shoulder.

"Leo! We're leaving!" She shouted, throwing the door open. Mr. Vhiontra glared at her, as she noted they were still teaching and the door wasn't locked. Her brother adjusted his glasses and he pretended she wasn't there.

"Miss McClain. School is not out for another three hours, I suggest you back to to your class." He said, looking over his glasses with a glare. She had Mr. Vhiontra a year ago and she still wanted to kick his ass into next week. Leo's blush only deepened as he looked down at his desk. She sighed. She had no fucking time for this. Purposefully, she strode into the classroom as Leo avoided eye contact. She didn't speak as she took him by the hand and practically dragged him out of the classroom as Mr. Vhiontra yelled for her.

"Star what the hell!?"

"Galra. Back from the pits of hell, that's what." she said, hurrying down the steps with Leo on her heels. Shit, Lucas' class was with the simulators today! She stood by the door, frantically texting both her parents, neither answered. She growled, waiting for the groups to walk out one by one. She noted Sarah, waving. She looked confused, but waved back. Finally, the last group passed by, and she grabbed Lucas by the arm, dragging him away from his team as he yelped in surprise.

"What the fu-"

"Galra ships hovering over the city. ETA is about an hour we need to get back that's all you need to fucking know Lucas, follow me." She said, speaking at a rapid rate, trying her parent's number multiple times and gritting her teeth in anger when they didn't. Today of all days they didn't answer. What the hell could two late-thirty year olds possibly be doing at this time of day!?

"Okay then. Do we stop at the dorms or-"

She turned around looking into the matching set of purple eyes and he held up his hands in surrender. The murderous look of his sister always scared him. Looking to his brother, they pressed themselves against the wall as Star shushed them so they could move past the lobby. As soon as the guards had turned, Star and her brothers burst out of the lobby, dashing out towards the parking lot. Hair flying, she jangled her keys as they ran. "Holy shit." she heard Lucas say, as she briefly looked to the sky, a shadow slowly making it's way across the desert. "I haven't seen one of those in years..."

"Get in the car." She demanded. "We're going home."

"But-" 

"Don't you fucking dare Lucas Marin McClain." she said, putting her foot to the gas. The car lurched forward out of the parking lot, their hair flying in the wind as she let down the windows. Leo looked to his twin, worried as he looked up from the car. The Galra ship loomed over the desert, scaring him. The Galra had done some pretty terrible things in the past, including injuring every single one of the paladins, his family.

Taking off his glasses, he stuck his head out the window, looking directly up at the ominous ship. It was still a dark purple, but it moved strangely so slow. Was it still scanning for something?

"Star?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the ship looking for?"

"The lions."

"Why here?"

"They're under the house."

Lucas and Leo gasped at the same time. Was she actually serious?!


	4. 4-That Moment When...

**sweaters:**

_holy fuck the galra are literally hovering over earth rn_

**sweaters:**

_shano where the fuck are you_

**sweaters:**

_did i do something?_

Leo McClain looked up from his phone, holding onto both it and the seatbelt for dear life. He had shed his Garrison coat a while ago while Star had messed up her driving record further. The highway had been full of people _fucking_  stargazing in the middle of highway, so they were driving on a path of mostly dirt. He could hear the rocks getting stuck in the car as Star continued to drive without heed.

**princeofaltea:**

_sorry! i couldn't reach my phone, i was training w/ dad and em_

**princeofaltea:**

_do you guys need help? should i tell my parents?_

**sweaters:**

_prob not. star's driving us to our death_

**princeofaltea:**

_your parents have the lions dont they_

**sweaters:**

_maybe?_

**princeofaltea:**

_?_

**sweaters:**

_i dont know, they never told us but star fucking knows_

**princeofaltea:**

_because shes a fucking meteor, right?_

**sweaters:**

_how the hell did you guess?_

"Are you texting your boyfriend?" Lucas teased, staring over his shoulder. 

"No!!" Leo felt himself turn red at the thought.

"Who are you texting so frantically then? Your space communicator thing was turned on." Lucas said, attempting to take off the space suit in the back as the car lurched forward. "What the hell Star?!"

"Chill your ass! We're almost home anyways." She answered as they turned down the residential street that lead to their house. She slowed so that she could meet the speed limit, Leo was dizzy.

**princeofaltea:**

_where are you tho, are you okay?_

**sweaters:**

_im fine at the moment. im not sure whether i will be in the next few minutes_

**princeofaltea:**

_fuck why_

**sweaters:**

_stars fucking driving tho_

**princeofaltea:**

_dont worry me like that! i thought you were dying or some bs like that_

**sweaters:**

_okay?_

Their neighborhood came into sight as Leo tried to wrap his head around Lucas and his theories. Since Shano had made him an intergalactic sort of wi-fi tower, they'd texted back and forth since he was eight. It was always the highlight of the day, but since Lucas has asked whether it was his boyfriend back in the ninth grade, it was a mystery to this day. Did Leo like Shano that way? Not necesarily. Sure, Shano was amazing, he could fight and cook, and told the best jokes, but he was more secretive than Leo would've liked to believe.

He was fucking adorable though.

"Dad!!" Star yelled, throwing open the front door once she had unlocked it. No one answered.

"Dad where the fuck are you?" He heard her mutter as they entered the house. Walking around, the three couldn't find them. They had checked the master bedroom, the bathrooms, and even the kitchen and living room. The T.V was off, leading Leo to believe they didn't know of the impending doom.

"Star?!" He heard the frantic voice of his papa, coming from outside, worry fading from his face as he took in all three of his children. "So you saw the-"

"Why the hell are the furry purple alien creatures attacking my fucking home!?"

"I'm not sure Star, they must've found the lions."

"Where's dad?" Leo asked. His father was nowhere to be found.

"He's down with the lions right now."

"Are we just going to leave?!" Lucas asked, frantic as he ran back from his room in his usual clothing. 

"We're trying to find the castle right now." His father answered. "We're just watching. Hopefully they don't find us yet, just yet. If we can escape, maybe they'll leave the planet alone..."

Turning away, he wandered to his room, a few feet away as they talked. He shed his school clothing, tossing on a sweater and grabbing a pair of jeans. He left his boots on and he untangled the mess that was his hair right then. Looking to the mirror, he saw a bit of his dad in him. His hair was long enough to be his, and his eyes were kinda-sorta the right color, Lucas had the purple-grey eyes, they were closer to his dad's.

But they'd always been closer than him and his papa. For whatever reason, but he always preferred him over his papa.

_"C'mon baby, say daddy!"_

_"Are you still trying to do that?" Keith asked, walking in with Lucas. "He'll talk when he's ready, Lance."_

_"But-"_

_"No buts. Leave him alone." Keith said, smiling as he put Lucas down, as he joined Star in coloring something. His fingers grasped a crayon as she attempted to take it back from him._

_There was a beat of hesitation as Keith came closer to him before, "Mama!"_

_Keith paused, Lance turning to look at Leo in surprise. He repeated himself, more excited now as Keith came running to him, picking him up as he gurgled. Lance playfully pouted, muttering something about two out of three children saying his name first._

That was the beginning of it, and then it just spiraled to favoritism. Both of them loved their princess, and then Lucas always leaned towards Lance. It had also become a thing when Leo had said he didn't want his hair cut so he could look like his dad. He in no way had a mullet, his hair wasn't that long, but sometimes it became a problem, so he usually pulled it back in a ponytail.

"Leo!" Star had come to his room frantically, pulling him up. His glasses fell as he protested, as she dragged him to the basement door, which had been locked since just about forever.

"What?! I can't fucking see Star!" he said, as she dragged him down the poorly lit staircase. The light became brighter as they walked further, taking the stairs a few at a time, and soon he was almost blinded as the light was brighter in more focus. Blinking his eyes a few times, he held in a gasp.

The Red and Black lions rested, particle barriers down as the others turned to their arrival.

"Well, just so you know kids, you're not going back to school." His papa said jokingly.

"Fuck yes!" Lucas said, pumping a fist into the air.

"There's more of a chance for us to die."

"Fuck school though." Lucas said, sticking his tongue out his sister, as she did the same. He heard his father sigh as he pulled them apart.

"I'm taking Luke and Leo with me, you've got Star?" He asked his papa. He nodded as Star glared in his direction. He did the same as Leo rolled his eyes. Looking away from the two, he watched in awe as the lion opened for them to enter. He stepped inside with his brother, both in awe as they looked around, his father taking the seat of the pilot.

"Hold on boys."

"To what?"

"Anything." He heard the rare smirk in his voice as he immediatly rushed forward to grab the back of the chair as the lion lurched forward.

_I am so fucked right now._

He felt around on his pockets, becoming panicked.

_Shit I didn't grab my phone._

_Chances are I'll see him soon enough._

__________________

Face claims are in the first chapter now! 

Anyways, bah and stay in the vld trashcan.

*what's in that dark place over there*

*never go there, that's real life* XD


	5. 5-War's Never Over (Part One)

I'm sorry XD

________________

"Star get up." For the second time that day, someone shook her awake. Almost panicking when she noted she wasn't in her bedroom or dorm room, she took a moment to realize where she actually was. "We're nearing the castle."

Standing, she rubbed her eyes as she followed her brother back to the front of the lion. Her face lit p as the castle came into view, something she hadn't seen in years. Once they had landed, she bolted for the exit, flying into Emersyn's arms.

"Whoa!" she stumbled before regaining her balance, laughing. "Star!! Oh my God!" she said in excitement.

Emersyn had grown since she had seen her last, her dark hair long and curly as it fell in waves down her back, only pulled back by a clip similar to the one Leo wore in his hair. She wore a spring dress in blue with a gold sash along as the belt, though she was barefoot. She laughed as she pulled her close, smiling. "Em!!"

"Mom! They're back!" She heard Shano's voice yell from across the room. Star pulled herself away from Emersyn as she turned to the rest of her immediate family. Leo turned a deep red as he came face to face with Shano, who had grown taller than him over the years. He smiled as he gave him a hug.

"Who's back?" Allura asked, stepping into the hangar, Shiro and Coran on her heels. Her face lit up as she dashed down the steps to excitedly say hello to their visitors.

______________

"Leo! It's so good to see you again!" Shano said, leading him down the hall after their parents had left to go to Earth. "I missed you!"

"Y-yeah." His cheeks stung red in embarassment as Shano took his hand.

"Text messages really don't do you any justice, huh?" He asked, smiling. Leo nodded in response.

"You can stay in the room next to mine." He dramatically opened the door, and Leo smiled, laughing as he walked in, Shano waiting in the doorframe.

"What?" he asked, noting as Shano stayed rather than leaving. He noted in surprise as he realized that this had originally been his parents' room when they still slept with them. He smiled at the few memories before immediatly dashing for the bed.

"Leo?" Shano asked as he came closer before Leo pulled out a necklace, the chain rusted from wear. "What're you doing?"

There had originally been three, all with the same chain and charm, but one had been broken years ago in the simulator, and another had managed to clog the kitchen sink in their house. The one that had been saved/forgotten about (his of course, he was most likely the most responsible in the McClain household), had been behind the mattress and Leo had cursed himself for that.

_"What if daddy doesn't come back?" Lucas asked, as they sat in a corner of the control room, waiting for their assorted parents to come back._

_"He'll come back."_

_"But what if he doesn't?"_

_"Stop asking questions." Star answered, like the great big sister that she was. "Of course daddy wil_

_"He'll come back. He's the best pilot ever."_

_And that satisfied Lucas' question. Right until they had come back and Star, Lucas and Leo had crowded around a pod with their 'cousins' as their father had been screaming about someone named Mina to their Uncle Coran._

To this day, Leo questioned who Mina was. He had never gotten an answer, when he was six and when he had seen his father pick up a pink t-shirt that he was sure as hell wouldn't fit any of them. His eyes always lingered on things that were smaller and younger themed than they actually were.

He smiled as he rubbed a finger over the heart-shaped charm. Lance had given the three of them matching necklaces, saying they would always be close, no matter where in the galaxy they were at the time. At first, it had been a little think Leo was always excited about, and then he just wore it so often it kind of just rusted the chain.

Until they had left the castle, Leo had never taken it off.

"Leo, what's so special about this necklace, anyways?" Shano asked, tilting his head ever so slightly as he looked up from the charm.

"Something my parents gave me, that's all." He said, trying to fasten it around his neck. He struggled before Shano took it an fastened it for him.

"Is that the pin I gave you for your birthday?"

"Y-yeah, actually I forgot about that." He pulled the pin from his hair, allowing it to fall around his shoulders as he looked at the silver pin adorned with stars. He wore it so often he'd forgotten the meaning of it. He felt a little embarassed, almost habitually pulling his hair back.  It was really the only telltale sign of which twin was which, until Lucas cut his hair and dyed it. Shano came a bit closer, pushing a strand behind his ear. Leo smiled weakly, knowing Shano was always OCD about that kind of stuff.

_"Leo, don't you think you should get a haircut-"_

_"No!!" Leo had whined to his father when he was much younger. "Then everyone will forget me!"_

_"What on Earth do you mean by that?" He asked, brushing away some of his son's bangs from his face as he stood. "No one could forget my baby." He said, pulling him up onto his lap._

_"Yeah, but then everyone will forget I'm Leo, and they'll call me Lucas instead! Papa did it the other day!"_

_His dad smiled, chuckling to himself. "When you have three children, try remembering all their names and match them to their faces when you've been working at a cafe all day." He said, rustling his son's hair. Leo shook his head to get the hair out of his eyes. "You don't have to cut your hair like Lucas', okay? Just keep it short enough so you can see."_

_"Okay daddy." He had said, looking to his father's hair. "Why do you keep your hair long?"_

_He didn't answer and only covered his son's face in kisses, as he laughed, giggling until tears came and his stomach hurt._

From that day forward, Leo had never really cut his hair unless it was past his shoulders and Star could curl it without burning his scalp.

He yawned, and Shano smiled as he felt his cheeks burn. "You have a cute yawn."

"W-what?" Leo stuttered as Shano realized what he had said. He blinked before stumbling back.

"N-nothing." He coughed and left the room hastily. Leo's cheeks burned as his hair fell into his face as he looked to his shoes.

If this was any sign that Shano might've had romantic feelings for him, he'd like that.

_____________

"Stay on your feet Star!" She heard Emersyn say for the thirteith time that day. She sighed between pants as she stood, wielding a staff. If there was one thing Star hated, and Star hated a lot of things *cough* Tiensens *cough* Star hated, was fighting close-range. She and Emersyn had made a beeline for the training deck when their parents had left, and she regretted this choice now. Emersyn had trained for years and she had barely made it on to the fighter pilot list at the Garrison. Holy shit she had been lucky then. Of course, she had heard the story when her father had dropped out and her papa had been a sub for him. She never would've existed had his father never have gone after her uncle, and her papa recognizing him.

"Alright..." she panted, standing as she picked up the staff she had used. Emersyn had flipped her on her back, and she rubbed over it with her left hand, hissing slightly. Sweat ran down her face as she lunged once again and Emersyn dodged, pushing her away with a staff to the side. Her ponytail had fallen apart ages ago and her hair stuck to her.

"Emersyn! That's enough for today."  She sighed in relief and sunk to the floor as her uncle Shiro walked in after standing in the doorframe. "Don't go too hard on her, she just got back."

"You'll get better." Emersyn said, offering her a hand. She pulled herself up, holding a hand to her temples. "It's tiring now, but you'll be okay, alright?"

"Y-yeah...okay." She said sarcastically, heading for the showers.

Why?

Was she really going to be a defender of the universe simply because her parents had been?

That was some dumb ass shit if it was. They had doomed her to death without even knowing it goddammit.

Patting her hair down with a towel, she walked into the control room, and ran a hand through her damp hair. She only barely laid eyes on the ship in front of them when it fired and the castle shuddered from impact.

"Shit."

_________________

sheo? yah or nah? I like the fluff aspect.

Word count: 1512


	6. 6-War's Never Over (Part Two)

"How did they friggin' find us!?" Leo asked drowsily as he raced into the control room with Shano. "What the hell!?"

"The lions recently left the castle, if they could find the Black and Red lions, they must know the signals for the lions." Coran answered, his hands flying across the controls. Hesitantly, Shiro took the black paladin seat, almost mirroring what Coran did. Star was itching to do something, but considering none of them knew  _what the actual fuck_  they were doing, they gathered in the control room, watching the ship as Coran expertly dodged fire from the canon every time.

"Well in that case..." Leo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Star noted her brother's clothes were ruffled, leading her to believe he had been asleep a while ago. He yawned, habitually scratching the back of his neck as he leaned against a chair.

"Stay nearby." Shiro said. "You can go though."

Star almost did a double take as she thought she had seen Leo's eyes roll up his head as he blinked and got up from his spot and walked along the walls back to his room. They split, leaving Star alone as she walked back to her room.

Why now?

Why today? Of all the goddamn days they could've picked, it was today out of the ten years they'd been out of the castle that the Galra had picked to come and ruin her young life.

_"S-she slipped through my fingers, I-"_

_"Stop it! Stop fucking blaming yourself for this!"_

Well, she had been ruined from the beginning, what the fuck was she talking about?

A few hours later, she bolted up. Star felt a pull from somewhere in the castle. It wasn't painful, a slight tug for her to go somewhere. It was weird. Leaving her room, she walked out, the pull becoming stronger as she realized where it was pulling her to, to the hangar. Jogging towards the hangar, she skid as the door opened. The Red lion's hangar, and her papa waved to her from beyond the catwalk.

The pull faded as she came closer to the lion, looking to the massive robot, her neck craned, trying to understand why whatever it was had pulled her to the Red lion, of all five. Turning away from it, she became a bit startled when her father put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. They began a small conversation as she followed him out of the hangar, and he finished by saying he was going to get a shower.

Something else tugged at her, only looking back to area where whatever it wanted her to go. She noted that it was from the same place: the hangar.

Was Red trying to tell her something? What the hell did she want with her?

Giving the door another strange look, she stalked off down the hallway, following the smell of the alien food that she loved.

_____________

Three days later, bolting up in the middle of the night, Star gritted her teeth in annoyance as the tugging became stronger. Red's hangar wasn't even down this damned hallway, and she wanted her now, in the middle of the fucking night.

Of course, it could've been you-knew-what, but it was too soft for it to be that. Swinging her legs over the side of the mattress, she stood as she tossed on a pair of her sleep shorts and a t-shirt before walking out of her room, heading towards the hangar. Yawning, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed Emersyn standing a few doors down in front of Black's hangar. They locked eyes before meeting in the middle of the hallway.

"Why are you up so late?"

"I could ask the same thing." Emersyn said, cocking an eyebrow.

"It's....."

"Really hard to describe?"

"Basically."

Emersyn looked away to the hangar door, her eyes evident that she had that uncontrollable tug as well. What did it mean, now that it had woken up two of them now? When she looked back, she sighed and walked back the way she came, waving goodbye.

Standing alone now, Star wandered to the hangar door, the floor cold underneath her bare feet. She hesitated before opening the door.

Walking down the stairs to Red, she looked to her dark eyes before she reached out with her left hand to the particle barrier.

And she wished she hadn't when memories flooded into her mind as she stumbled back in fear, confusion and more.

_"He's down!"_

_"Shit! Oh my fucking God, please-leave my husband alive, don't end his life this way!"_

" _He'll be okay!"_

_"Shut up right now!"_

_"Red....I'm trying my hardest. Will my children be left as orphans if he dies? If I can't take it anymore? My beautiful shooting Star, my sons. And Mina...."_

Star scurried away, tears prickling at her eyes. She knew this conversation now, it must've taken place after that damned battle that had almost left her father dead. Star was smarter than she looked, sure, but even she didn't know what exactly they had lost. She and her brothers only had a name, Mina, but that name didn't mean anything to her.

The look of depression in his eyes after he had told her everything was going to be alright.

Those two days, her dad didn't come to say good night.

They had never understood what had happened that day, her parents spent nights when they didn't come to check in on her before they went to bed. They didn't come to dinner some nights and when she did pass by their room, she could hear the soft sobbing coming from inside, but she didn't dare enter.

When she cried herself to sleep in the Garrison when people had called her a freak, a mutant, and Mani, her parents, her brothers never knew until it became psychical. When she had lashed out at the two Tiensens. She had scars running down her back that she often passed off as falling on something sharp. That was the only time she had subjected herself to doing so. Rubbing her thumb over the patch of purple on her palm, she sighed, thinking about what her parents must've gone through compared to her. Once she had surrounded herself with people that cared about her, and continued to visit her family after she had been accepted to the Garrison, she had become mentally better and never really had those thoughts again.

But just the thought of fucking murdering those two, the thought of finally getting revenge on those kids who had called her a freak of nature...that looked so desirable in her eyes.

What would Mina think of the matter? Whoever she was.

The particle barrier fell away, Red's eyes lighting up as she backed away in fear. Red bent down to her, opening her mouth for her to enter.

"N-no. Nonononononono-"

Star was the next red paladin.

Oh God why.

This damned war was never over. It had bled into her generation.

Who was next?

________________

"This is what I was afraid of." Allura said, as they gathered around the Red lion the next morning after Star had confessed the events of the night before. "The lions are on the lookout for their next paladins."

Shano and Leo sat cross-legged on the floor nearby, sharing a glance. "Did anyone else feel the pull of their lion last night?" Allura questioned, turning to their children.

Emersyn hesitated before raising a hand. Star's jaw dropped as Lucas also raised his hand.

No.

Not her brothers.

Goddamit.

Allura sighed as a worried look passed over her parents' eyes as they looked to their first and third-born children. "Really? Only you three?" She looked to Shano and Leo, confused. "Not either of you?"

They shook their heads no. "We're down two lions then."

"Not necessarily. Maybe Green and Yellow still like Katie and Hunk as their paladins." Lance said. 

Star's eyes wandered to Emersyn and Lucas as they locked eyes, only a glance communicating the fear in their eyes. She did question though why Shano and Leo wouldn't pilot lions, that was strange.

"I'm thinking more along the lines of Robi and Arrow?" Shiro asked, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "If three of the lions picked our kids out of everyone in the galaxy, the others must be looking for them then."

"You know how protective Katie is over Robi, and as far as I'm concearned, I don't think Arrow has even really seen outside of the Balmera." Keith said, his eyes dark with concearn. "What are the chances?"

"Ask Slav that, he'll talk your ear off." Lance said, bringing a bit of humor into the conversation. It lifted some spirits, Star could tell, as she questioned who Slav was herself. Then it became quiet again. "Well, if Star is the Red paladin-"

"I was pulled towards Black last night, Star can tell you." Emersyn cut him off.

"It...or whatever was pulling me towards Blue." Lucas said, his voice shaking as he rubbed the back of his neck. Star was worried for him, he was never nervous, and they had grown up together like two peas in a pod, she would know.

"Then we have Black, Red, and Blue. That leaves Green and Yellow. Hopefully they wait until Katie and Hunk can get here before they claim anyone else." Allura answered.

Star had never wanted this.

She loved space, had even wanted to pilot a lion one day.

But not like this.


	7. 7-War's Never Over (Part Three)

Robi Holt didn't ever leave his home, and somedays he wished that were true. He went to school online, he basically was a hermit, weighing 129 pounds at five ten, standing a few inches above his mother, Katie Holt, who also worked online while her mother -his grandmother- worked at a local cafe. Sometimes he wondered how his mother felt about living with her mother still, but if she had a problem with it, she never made it clear.

Tossing on his sweatshirt after breakfast, he looked through the window, hesitating whether or not today was a day he decided to leave the two-story home that Katie had adopted him into. After walking downstairs, he waved hello to his grandmother, and noted that Katie wasn't present for breakfast. She always dissapeared in the weirdest hours of the day, so it was basically normal.

But today it wasn't. There was a pull at him, telling him to go into the forest of pine trees since two days ago. As he ate breakfast with his grandma, he kept looking to the forest, of which the house looked over into. He was more than grateful to be adopted by Katie, sure he didn't grow up with a male figure in his life, but he was sure he'd turn out like this with or without a father to toss around a ball. Maybe he wouldn't be such a bean pole, but he'd still be like this. He loved it when Katie praised him. Once she had noted that he was too smart for his own good, and sometimes, he agreed.

He had been six, and in the foster system for three years. He had recently left his third family when a fire started in the middle of the night and only his foster sister (who disliked him to infinity) blamed him for it. Of course, his social worker didn't agree, and to be honest, Robi had wanted her to his mother, whenever she gave him to a new family, she had ruffled his hair and said not to cause too much trouble. But trouble was basically his middle name (Katie had given him the middle name was Amos, which meant trouble in Israel, he thought) which is why, house after house, he never made friends or even tried to love his foster family.

That was just how it was until Katie had called the foster agency and asked. The agency was huge, and amazingly, Catherine (his social worker) had been picked, and Catherine had then asked Robi whether he'd like to be adopted. Three weeks later, paperwork had been filled out and Katie had expected him to run straight into her arms. He didn't, simply grabbing his backpack and following her into the car. His grandmother had been more than excited, and Katie....Katie was more than expectant.

He probably didn't meet her expectations of adoption.

He stayed to himself the first few months, which dissapointed Katie, she tried so hard to be the mother he'd lost in the hurricane back in Florida, the smell of seawater making him lock himself in the car when they took him to the beach on his seventh birthday.

Robi expected her to be like any other foster mother he'd had, just permanant until he was eighteen.

But she was different. She always packed him a lunch, she taught him how to code (not really knowing she'd taught him curse words along the way) and always said good night. Unlike the others, Katie cared for him day and night. To this day, he didn't regret Catherine picking him off all the other kids she had on her plate. While Robi never really learned to call her mom, she often called her by her first name, and she was okay with that. They eventually got closer as mother and son, and Robi was amazed how she had taken him under her wing, nursing him back to a healthy state of mind and showing him how to love again.

He missed his mother. He would never forget how she would always kiss him before he went to sleep, how she always made his favorite, toast and honey, and knew exactly how to cheer him up when it was a rainy day and bullies were everywhere. While she was an immigrant, all the way from Cuba, she always had time for him, no matter whether she had been at school all day, trying to get a degree. She was only twenty-one when she died, and he never knew his father. One day coming home from school and his mother never got to finish her childhood, trying to raise a sickly child, her son, and balancing school. Eventually she had moved to Florida, looking for a degree, and she had drowned saving her son when the waters had been above her shoulders. He had almost died, but she traded in her life for his, and everyday he thanked her for it.

Why had she volunteered her life?

After thanking his grandmother for breakfast, helping her out wash off the dishes, he went upstairs and grabbed his backpack, a water bottle, and tossed on a pair of shoes. Hastily saying goodbye, he locked the front door and set out into the forest. The small, nonexistent tug became stronger as he walked further into the forest, and he picked up the pace as it got stronger. He felt it almost become like an invisible rope was pulling on his middle as he began at a trot and sped up to a full out dash into the thickening forest, branches hitting him. He pushed his way into a clearing, and craned his neck, silently gasping.

A large......robot was flying over the clearing, doing all sorts of aerial tricks that just...shouldn't be even relatively possible!

Pulling off his backpack, he stayed in awe, pulling out his phone and aiming it to the sky. 

Holy shit did he have something to show the two females he shared the house with.

______________________

Fuck.

Robi had probably followed her outside earlier in the morning! Katie was left with a few decisions, to fly off and hope that he didn't question her dissapearance with the appearance of the lion, or to just tell him everything.....

The latter seemed like the smarter idea, to be honest.

She sighed, preparing for the awkward-ass conversation that was about to insue. 

Robi stumbled as Green landed in front of him, as he dropped his phone. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the lion. Even from a few feet away, she could see her son's eyes widen as she stepped out, running a hand through her lemon colored hair.

"K-katie?!" Robi stood up quickly, picking up his discarded phone and backpack, confusion evident. "What the hell-"

"Why are you out here?" She asked. This was one aspect she had never wanted Robi to see of her life, hoping the war wouldn't follow her out here after she left Team Voltron. Of course, it did. Because she was fucking Pidge Gunderson and the war would never leave her, no matter how much she wished. Robi would've found out one way or another.

"I-I felt something. Something's been tugging at me all day, I didn't understand what it was and I let it pull me out here. What-"

"I-I wanted to keep this from you, just at least until you were eighteen, one more year. I wanted you to be safe, Robi." She pulled him closer. Even though he was at least three inches taller than she was -Goddamit she was just short- she still treated him like the broken six year old she had adopted almost eleven years ago. The child she still just wanted to protect.

Robi was seventeen now, she couldn't coddle him anymore, he would be a legal adult in the next year.

"What is it?!" He pulled away from her hug to crane his neck up to look at the lion, which had put up the particle barrier once more.

"This is the green lion of Voltron. Remember the stories I used to tell you when you pretended to be asleep?"

"T-those were real!?"

"Of course they were."

"How the hell-"

"It's okay. Just....we'll learn to take everything in stride, okay Robi?" she asked, looking into his eyes that matched the color of the lion. He nodded, as Katie pressed her hand against the barrier.

Nothing.

"Uh....Green?" she asked, looking into the darkened eyes of the lion, that didn't flinch or move when her paladin pressed her hand against the barrier. Repeatedley testing the process, she stepped away from the lion, confused.

Why?

"Katie?" Robi asked, coming to stand next to her. "What is it?"

"Green....Green stopped responding." she said, her face falling. Was it a virus? She had just been flying her a moment ago!

"Can I try?" He asked, stepping forward to press his hand against the barrier.

"No, the lions only respond to-" she was at a loss for words when Robi stumbled backwards in shock, standing on shaky legs as the barrier fell, Green's eyes lighting up once again and lowering her mouth for him to enter. "Their paladins-"

"I-I know." He said, confused. He hesitantly stepped forward, looking over his shoulder to Katie. She nodded, walking forward to follow her son inside. He seemed to act on instinct from there, sitting in the seat as it rushed forward, the controls coming up in rapid sucession.

"How-" He laid one hand over a control and the lion lurched into the air, and Katie had to hold herself back from screaming. Twenty whole years ago, and she was still racing through the air at the mercy of a terrible pilot.

___________________

h o l y  q u i z n a k

 

wanna guess who the yellow paladin is? XDD

double update hELL YES


	8. 8-War's Never Over (Part Four)

"Lucas!!" Star barreled down the hallway to her younger brother's room, knocking like a crazy woman. Opening the door to find it empty, she noted it as she raced down to her other brother's room.

Knocking again, she got a result. Eventually.

And maybe one that made her question how long these two had known each other.

"Um...good morning?" Leo asked, coming to the door. She opened her mouth to speak when she heard a yawn from inside that made her question who else was with him.

"Um who is sleeping with you?" She asked, peering over his shoulder. Leo blinked, and then answered, mildly confused.

"W-what?"

Star hated dealing with a sleepy Leo, it was hard to get him up and actually functioning like a human being five minutes after he woke up, and he usually was extremely irratatable that early. Thankfully he seemed too drowsy to argue, which might make this morning a bit easier on everyone. "Someone yawned."

"Hope you don't mind, Leo got a little homesick last night." Shano smiled sheepishly, tossing on a t-shirt over his undershirt. His hair was tied back and his face was bright red once he saw who was at the door.

Of course, it had been three months since they'd departed from Earth, and Robi had arrived with Katie a few weeks after that, and sure, Star had wanted to go back to Earth and visit with Cassandra, one of her aunts, or game with one of her cousins, or make cookies with her grandmother, and to be honest, she felt bad for leaving her friends behind. They probably all thought she was missing.

"O....kay..." she said, her mind slightly wandering to the darker aspects of what she knew. How long had this been happening. Of course, if Leo liked it, then there wasn't much Star could do.

"It's like seven in the morning. What did you need Star?" He asked, waving goodbye to Shano as he dissapeared down the hallway.

"First of all, why the fuck haven't you been up before this?"

"Unlike you, sleep deprivation exists." He answered. Sure, they'd been out on some closely-watched scout missions around the galaxy, in which they'd been up for a while, but Star wasn't having issues with sleep. Leo seemed to be the only one, his answer being that he worried for his sister and brother. And possibly, 'homesickness'

Of course, she believed he was having issues with it, and trying to come to terms with it. Shano was a great friend to both of them, so she could let that slide.

"Okay then." she said, leaning against the doorframe. "I found something interesting this morning~"

"Why'd you come to me, why not dad, papa or Lucas?" He asked sarcastically, allowing her inside. "You know I like to sleep late."

"I couldn't find Lucas, and I didn't know what exactly it meant...." she said, fingering the picture in her hand before giving it to her brother. He looked it over before giving it back with a confused look.

"What about it?" he asked. "So it's an ultrasound, what's so confusing about it?"

"Look at the date." She said, pointing to the white lettering, June 14th 20xx.

"So?" he asked, emphasing his last statement. "You're half birthday when you were six, so what?"

"Ex-fucking-actly!" She said, throwing her hands up in annoyance. "This couldn't be one of ours!"

"So it's Katie's, is what you're trying to say?"

Leo was getting on her nerves and Star knew it was just a tactic for him to get her to leave him alone. She wasn't about to let this go though.

"No! It's dad's!"

A look of confusion passed over his face before realization took over. "Shit you think they aborted them!?"

"N-no! I mean, I think something must've happened, leading to their death. Remember when they got back from a mission back then, and dad was in a pod for a few days?" Star questioned as a lightbulb went off in her brother's head.

"They kept this from us deliberately, didn't they?"

"Yes."

______________

Maybe returning to the castle wasn't the best idea, Lance thought as he held Keith close, hoping he's recover from the anxiety attack that had plauged him since about half an hour ago. Walking by the pod room earlier, even that brought back memories he would've liked to forget.

Yet he couldn't. And Keith couldn't either, sitting by the wall shaking until Lance had found him a few minutes later.

_"K-keith?"_

_"He'll be fine in a few days, maybe some hours before he regained conciousness if we didn't put him in a pod." Coran said, as the inhabitants of the castle surrounded one of the pods that held their own._

_"And Mina?" He crossed his fingers that the invetiable hadn't happened. But-_

_"Lance, it's just too much to hope for." Shiro said, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him._

_"Papa, what's a Mina?" He bent down to his first born daughter, wiping his tears away with the back of his jacket's sleeve, trying to smile. It seemed she could almost feel what he was feeling because she frowned, worried. Her eyes lost the sparkle that he always loved, sensing her father was in pain._

_"It's okay Star. E-everything's fine." He pulled her close, and she gave him a lackluster smile as she gave him a hug._

He had never even allowed his fourth-born to see the sun, the light of the day, he didn't even get to see her. Had they moved earlier, they could've waited out the five months in which Mina would've been born.

But they hadn't. 

From the moment he'd heard the clattering of his bayard on the ground, his heart had stopped, he was in disbelief he'd let this happen. Keith had been hellbent on accompanying them on this damned mission and it had led to the loss of their child.

To this day, he'd never forgotten her, his unborn child. He'd imagined she'd look so much like Star, for months afterwards it was hard to look at her smiling face, thinking of what she had looked like as a five month old, her beautiful smile, her eyes that seemed to be the galaxy in two orbs of purple.

He had stopped shaking a while ago, and now his grip on his shirt had lessened until he was only hiccuping, allowing himself to calm and pull away. "S-she would've been ten today.."

"I know, and we're not moving on, okay?" He looked to the pod room, memories flooding into him, but he looked away and tried to smile.

"Y-yeah." Lance thumbed away a tear from his husband's face, helping him stand.

________________

"Two and a half months and I'm in the middle of a conspiracy. At least I don't actually have to go outside for it." Robi said, hanging upside down on one of the couches in the lounge, his hair falling in his face as he looked to his fellow paladins. "Why I was included, who the fuck knows?" he was talking to himself, which the others had a hard time understanding why he was so sarcastic.

Oh right, he was raised by Katie.

"Like I said, it's not a conspiracy! This is our sister we're talking about!" Lucas said, enthusiastically. "If marked by our births, she would've been born today, therefore making her ten years old!"

"Good for you. Why am I here?"

"Because, you're our Green paladin! Plus you're going to have to put up with us, no matter whether you like it or not." Lucas smirked as Robi rolled his eyes. "C'mon, we're just curious!"

"Maybe these are wounds that they just hid so that they wouldn't have to be hurt again. To be honest I think this is a terrible idea, Star." Emersyn said, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared to the new red paladin.

"Understandable, but the three of us had the right to know, she was our sister." Star said, trying to justify her actions. "Besides, it's an alien cupcake, what the fuck is triggering about that?"

"What's so triggering about me talking about mutants?" She raised an eyebrow and Star frowned, bothered.

"Fuck you." she flipped her off, looking away, but continued to talk. "If it's so bad, they shouldn't have left it where I -or anyone- could've found it!"

"Star kind of has a point. They really should've told us." Leo spoke, quiet as he adjusted his glasses once more, nervous and more quiet than usual. 

"I say we just roll with it. If we accidentally trigger one or both, then someone owes me twenty bucks." Shano said, braiding Leo's hair. Star and Lucas shared a look, and then shrugged.

"All for Shano's idea, say I."

__________________________

"A little something we all put together." Lucas led his father into the lounge, making eye contact with his friends. Emersyn rolled her eyes at the same time Robi did, and they ducked behind the couch again. Star's eyes lit up and she gave him a thumbs up as she laid the cupcakes -or whatever the fuck Coran had cooked them- and Leo tried to light the alien candles with little avail. Leo's left eye twitched as the flame lit, and never caught to candles.

"Lucas, I trust you with my life, but can I take this blindfold off?" His papa asked.  Star shrugged, taking the lighter away from Leo, who glared at her. To be honest, he was slightly worried for what his brother would do with a lighter other than lighting candles....

Emersyn and Robi came to sit with Shano, and Star and Leo took their spots next to the impromptu table they'd made, and gave him the thumbs up. "Yeah, you can take them off now."

He was honestly worried for what this would do to their mental health.

Hopefully it was the exposure therapy that Star had justified it as.

Once they had fallen away, a mostly unenthusiastic 'surprise' from around the room. His father's purple eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as his eyes fell over the spelling of her name over fourteen tiny cakes. Star awkwardly yelled surprise as tears flooded his eyes. She became nervous, wringing her hands out.

"I had no part in this." Robi said, trying to walk out as Emersyn pulled him back by the hood of his sweatshirt.

"Y-you,  y-you, how!?"

If crazy were a thing, it already arrived, filling their eyes. The three siblings shared a glance, Lucas and Leo glancing at her with a 'this is so your fault' look. She ran two hands down her face and groaned as she sank to the floor, her dad dashing out of the room sobbing and her papa racing after him.

"Well shit. Can I have my twenty dollars now?" Robi asked, not caring. Emersyn eyed him, and he shrugged. "Not like this could've been prevented."

"Not like you could care." Lucas said, turning to the older boy.

"Well it's not like  _someone_  totally didn't think what mental scars they'd open up if they did this. Great going you fucking meteor." He responded, his eyes flicking to Star, who raked hands through her hair. "Hope you're happy."

"I'm not Robi!" she said, a murderous glance in her eyes. "Sure, it was a 50/50 chance this would happen and believe me I thought it about it! I just wanted answers!"

"There's an easier way to ask than just shove it in their faces! For me, I know that now!" He stalked out of the room, fuming. A tear rolled down Star's cheek, and she rubbed it away, standing.

"You know that it isn't your fault, right sis?" Leo asked, hugging her from behind. She smiled weakly, allowing the remaining paladins and non-paladins to gather around her. How the hell was she going to find her way out of this one?

She had done yet another shitty thing without thinking, and now she'd have to fix it.

However you fix mental scars that have never healed.

______________________

_Hey dad,_

_Sorry about earlier, that was mostly my fault. Who the fuck am I kidding? :D It was completely my fault, I probably should've asked before I went ahead and did that. When you want answers you kind of just go right after it, huh?_

_Well, I tried my hand at asking for answers and I fucked it up again. Like everything else I've done in the past what, sixteen years of my life now?_

_If you don't want to answer the question, I'm okay with that, I was mostly curious than anything else._

_Love you,_

_Star_

.....

_Star,_

_Never say that again I swear to God I will end you. (Keith no she's our daughter)_

_You are a blessing every single day you wake up to see us, you are not a screw-up, sure you cause trouble, but that's probably one of our genes. Nothing you can help, trouble often follows us everywhere whether we like it or not._

_You probably would've loved Mina with every ounce of you that you have, and you've shown that to us everyday of your existence.  She didn't even get to open her eyes before she died, and we blame ourselves for that everyday. You're not wrong though, we honestly should've told you what happened._

_Love you baby,_

_Lance and Keith McClain_

________________

Word count: 2213

YEET

 

sorry for the feels guys :D


	9. 9-War's Never Over(Part Five)

Sorry for the last chapters mostly being centered around Mina. Promise there's more Next Gen. VLD action.

_______________

"So....."

"So we need to get the yellow lion before we get destroyed to smithereens?" Star asked sarcastically.

"Sure." Emersyn answered, keeping a close eye on the planet in question, while trying to keep her eyes flickering towards the viewscreen. She sighed before sitting back, kind of bored. They'd been with this one planet, without the castle, on a scout mission, for the last three earth hours. Or varga. Emersyn had never cared for the altean's way of time, and never planned to either.

They weren't necessarily avoiding getting the yellow lion.

Right?

God she hated being the black paladin. To be honest she may have loved it as a kid but having decisions mostly left up to her, that would take some getting used to. However her uncle or her father managed this, who really knew?

"There is literally nothing here you guys." The green lion came out of invisibility when she heard Robi's voice again. "Nothing. I think our parent's just wanted to get rid of us for a few hours."

"That would make some sense.They were kind of anxious to get us out here." Lucas said. "What do you guys think about heading back and asking Coran for cookies?"

"NO!" A loud groan erupted from the other three paladins in disgust.

"Alright. Star, Robi, I can kind of understand you, they're not earth cookies, but what's up with you Emersyn?" Lucas said, turning his lion to hers.

"Fifteen years aboard the castle and you have the nerve to ask that question?" Emersyn asked sarcastically. She shuddered just thinking about the cookie shaped alien food that a six year old Emersyn had  _thought_  tasted like a sweet.

She was dead wrong.

"Alright then." She caught a glance from the younger paladin leaning back in his chair. "How much longer are we going to stay here, oh fearless leader?"

"Not much longer. Another fifteen minutes and I call this one a bust." she answered, and shut off the videocam, allowing the others to chatter among themselves. Mostly insults from all three.

Emersyn would never admit it to anyone but herself that when she had put her hand on the particle barrier, she regretted it. The memories of the past paladins had locked her in her room all day, trying to comeprehend what they had been through before she had arrived. It had confused her mostly, and it almost brought her to tears hearing the conversations of the past paladins, when her father had gone missing, when Black had taken her uncle for her new paladin, when Mina had been lost.

It made her question what sort of legacy she would leave for the next paladin.

At first she didn't want to be Black's paladin. At first she would've been fine with her taking Shano instead.

But after seeing how much they relied on her, and how happy Shano was to spend time with Leo after years of seperation (Star and Emersyn had formed a secret Sheo shipping club) she accepted it, eventually. And didn't necessarily regret it. Star was fine piloting Red, it matched her fiery personality (no pun intended), Blue and Lucas were great together, and Robi....

 

Robi was a basket case at the moment. Who let that sassy lost child live with Katie?

To be honest, she was also slight worried history would repeat itself. If she were right, yellow and Arrow would be paired together. The chances of her being kidnapped by the Galra were really low (she lived with six people who would murder should any of their children go missing for crying out loud) but you never knew sometimes.

But who would put it past them that another might be kidnapped?

She was over thinking this now, something her parents' usually praised her for, but also tried for her to 'just be a kid for once' being the opposite of Shano's constant 'grow up'. Usually from her, but oh well, he did sometimes.

____________________

How the hell was he going to do this?

Was he really doing this?

Standing in front of the previous black and red paladins' room, Shano fidgeted with the circlet he wore before knocking. He didn't know who would come to the door, but God he hoped it was Lance.

Thank the stars it was a tired Lance who came to the door, and with Keith no where in sight, even better. Shano was lucky today, for what he was planning, he wasn't sure either of them wanted to hear it.

"Oh hey Shano. What's up?"

"The sky duh." Shano said, smiling sheepishly. It earned a genuine laugh from his uncle (or.....never mind)

"What'd you need?"

"I wanted to ask you something really quick." He was getting nervous now, and he was sure Lance could tell, his voice went up at the end of his sentence.

"Is somebody dying?"

"What? No, I mean.." Was he really about beat around the bush like this?

"Why'd you come to me then, why not Shiro?"

"It concearns Leo." he said, his face turning red at the thought of the long-haired McClain child, the one who always smiled when he entered a room.

But by then, Lance had put two and two together, a grin breaking out onto his face. "Ah, I get it-"

"YesI'dliketocourtyourson oh God!" He was about ready to just bolt down the hallway and hope he forgot. A fatherly like smile replaced the joking one and Shano was ready for rejection or some serious bs like that.

"My answer is yes. But there are a few things you need to know about Leo." He said. Shano's face lit up as he allowed him inside, and he sat on the floor with the older man.

"He can be a little reclusive at times, and if he doesn't want to see you, he just doesn't want to see you. Usually it means nothing, he's just tired, but if something's really bothering you, he won't bother telling you to go away. If he cries or has something along an anxiety attack, just hold him close and let him stay with you. Whether he likes it or not, there's always someone there for him, me, Keith, Star, Lucas, and you now." Shano nodded.

"Thanks-"

"What are you two doing?" A joking laugh came from the door and Shano literally almost did bolt from the room that time. Keith had come back from the training deck and he hadn't left before he came back. 

Exactly what the altean had been trying to avoid.

Shit.

"My son has a lover now!" Lance exclaimed and Shano turned a deeper red than he even thought was possible. This was the worst idea that he ever could've come up with, and to be honest, he just wanted to hide in a hole and never come out.

"Lucas?" Keith questioned.

"No! Leo!" The smile had blossomed over both of their faces now, and to be honest, Shano was not used to seeing his uncle smile like that.

At all.

"Oh, so that's why you were describing my personality traits to him. Leo's got a bit of you too, you can't lie about that."

"Can I go now?" He asked, standing.

"Yeah, sure." He felt that when he left a little hastily, he thought his uncle was going to say something along the lines of 'you break his heart I'll break you'

Yeah......

Walking a little too fast, he ran directly into Leo, making them both stumble. He moved a strand of brown hair to behind his ear, he could tell he was still red from the confusing exchange he had just had with his parents.

"A-are you okay?" He asked, pulling him up. Leo nodded in a response.

"Why were you coming from that wing? That's where my parents' room is." Leo asked, slightly suspicous of what he had been doing.

"Asking a quick question, that's all." He said, smiling sheepishly.

Was he really about to do this?

Yes.

He felt his heart try to pound out of his chest as he took both of Leo's hands, confusion and red spreading across his face again. "I wanted to ask you something too."

"Um....okay?"

He didn't know what to do after this.

 

Wing it. Just wing like every other time he'd done something extremely impromptu.

"I love you."

Yeah. Not the best way to go. Leo looked like he needed to be rebooted.

Did he not even like him? Shit that would be the end of him! He hadn't even considered the question whether or not the purple eyed-teenager was even straight or not!

"O-okay then..." He said quietly. "I guess I love you too?"

"Ha! I knew it!" He heard Star shout from a few rooms down. "Em! Get the camera!"

At that moment, Shano and Leo shared a look that just said 'run'.

________________

"There's been an increase in Voltron's activity over the last few days." He heard his mother say as they walked along the surface. "I wonder..."

"We're still safe Shay. I haven't heard anything from the others concearning the Galra.  We're fine." His father was speaking now.

A small head poked out of his hiding spot as his father found him eavesdropping. The small balmera-human hybrid (at just barely fifteen) smiled sheepishly as his father laughed.

"Mutant cats?"

"Not yet, Arrow. Nothing from the others yet, we're still safe." He answered, handing him the alien version of what his father had called a bagel. If one thing was certain, it was that his dad could cook. Like really well too. Biting into the bread-like food, his mother joined them, taking one for herself.

She was very pretty, a native Balmeran who had fallen in love with his father, Hunk Garrett, the amazing yellow paladin and the best chef he had ever met. Sure, he was an only child, but fingering one of his elongated ears to take off the metal ring he wore like an earring, his father ruffled his hair, pulling both of them closer to him.

He loved his family.

God, when the communicator call had come in, his heart had dropped, overhearing that the yellow lion, meaning his father, was needed by Voltron again.

When he had heard his own name though, he was a bit confused.

___________________

Little sheo drabbles because they are quiznaking adorable.


	10. 10-Sweet Relief

"You three have grown since I've been gone!" Hunk said over dinner. Arrow suspicously looked at his new friends, his fellow paladins (whatever that meant) There was six of them, two alteans, and four humans. One waved hello when they had first come in, and two were flicking whatever this food was at each other. One of the older paladins scolded them, and they eyed each other before eating again. "How old?"

The one with the curly brown hair answered first. "Sixteen and a half!" she -or possibly he, you never knew- exclaimed enthusiastically.

One of the two identical paladins then answered for both of them "Fifteen as of last month."

"Fifteen as of five months ago." Another said trumphiantly, the long haired princess he was going to assume.

"Robi, I'm assuming?" He asked the most likely socially awkward teen boy sitting at the end of the table eating. He flicked his eyes over to Arrow's father with a bored glance, holding up ten fingers and then seven. An entire seventeen years old.

He looked more like a lanky twenty year old that hadn't yet figured out his life.

"Well, welcome to the team!" The curly haired, starry eyed girl was looking directly at him now. He shrunk under her stare. "Uh.....yeah I forgot your name already." she grinned sheepishly.

Looking at her closer now, he noticed the slightly irregular ears she had, as her curly hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She had a constellation worth -and probably more- of freckles decorating her skin, her forehead and cheeks, all the way down to her hands, while they weren't as abundant as on her cheeks. "It's Arrow."

"Star McClain. Red Paladin. These people I live with are mostly my family, others are non-related family and others are just lanky gremlins." He cracked a grin when she said gremlin, looking directly at the boy at the end. He flipped her off before walking out with his bowl. "That's just Robi, he's Katie's son and doesn't like anyone."

"Katie?" She seemed to have forgotten he had never met anyone here before. She pointed to a long haired blonde female arguing with a dark-skinned male. She noticed where he was looking before answering. "That's my papa. He's just like Lucas-" here she pointed at a dark haired boy debating with another "and me, we like to debate a lot. Let me tell you now, it's usually never my fault-"

"Don't lie sis. Most of the arguments you guys have are your fault." A longer-haired person said, grinning.

"That's my brother Leo. He has a crush on a certain altean~" she said, smirking to her brother in response. He turned red before shooting a murderous look at his sister as one of the alteans laughed in response. "That's Shano and his sister Emersyn."

"Are you all paladins?" Arrow questioned, looking around at the teenagers across and next to him.

"Emersyn is the black paladin, Lucas is the blue paladin, Robi-he just walked out- is the green paladin and Star is the red paladin." Leo counted off the paladins.

"The yellow one?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, we kind of assumed it'd be you." Lucas spoke up then. "You know, because you're Hunk's son."

"What? What does my father have to do with me?" He asked.

"Well, four out of six of us are children of the previous paladins, we kind of just assumed that." Emersyn said from her spot next to him. "We can try after dinner."

"Your parents are...?" He questioned.

"Mine are Allura and Shiro" she pointed to them in turn, and between her and her brother he could see the similarities between them. "I'm a princess of a dead planet."

It was scary as she said that with such enthusiasm, but looking to the other paladins, they shrugged and didn't answer or really react. Star coughed them out of their awkward conversation, "Mine are Lance and Keith. I'm like a fourth Galra!" She held up her palm, a patch of purple lying there.

Well, he had double questions now, looking to the long-haired raven -that was apparently Keith-that sat next to the blue-clad man-She had pointed it out earlier in dinner that his name was Lance- that sat arguing with the same person-Katie-. Neither of the two in question looked remotely alien, they both looked human, nothing irregular.

Also how the hell did male pregnancy work?

"Don't think about it too long, it'll make your head hurt." Emersyn whispered as Star continued to ramble to those around her.

Maybe he'd be okay with this.

Maybe..

________________

"The resistance. That has to be our next target, that must be where Voltron is looking for help." Deric muttered to himself. He wasn't really talking to anyone, nobody was nearby this early in the morning. "But it just doesn't add up. They're so inactive..."

"Don't think about it too hard, okay?" The silky voice of the female Galra that had been arranged to one of his own generals. The twenty year old didn't look away from the holo as she wrapped her arms around him, licking the new bites in his neck. She was from a less....let's say with the times family, meaning they'd been around when mating was still a thing. He held back a hiss as looked over his shoulder, thumbing the holes she'd left with her canines. "We'll find them eventually."

He held back the feeling that he wanted to just push her off, but Yong hadn't done anything wrong. She thought he was her mate.

Prince Deric of the Galra Empire didn't belong to anyone. He really only let her believe that, while he didn't even romantically think of her that way. They just didn't do arranged marriages, and frankly, Deric was surprised she had gone after him, especially. 

Yong kept up with useless conversation for the next hour as he scavenged the universe for these slippery mechanical Earthen creatures. He thought of his mother, the picture that he always kept in his bedroom, a beautiful pure breed Galra woman, one of his father's more common assistants. Once they were married she basically took over writing most of the battle plans for the Empire, and once Deric had been born, she took to putting them in action.

That had been her last and fatal mistake.

Shaking himself out of the memory, he sighed, standing as he walked away from the holo, leaving Yong talking, as she didn't notice he had left.

Sometimes he just wanted to lay down and cry in a corner. He had everything though, people waiting on him hand and foot, a loving father (for the most part), basically a loving girlfriend.

But why did he feel so empty?

Devoid of any emotion?

Why couldn't he love anymore?

Oh right, because of all the damned deaths he'd caused. First his mother, then an entire battalion just a year ago, full of the people he trusted with his life. Because he hadn't been fucking paying attention.

Those people he knew.

Those people he loved like family, most agreeing with him.

Gone just like his mother.

Maybe it was a good thing not to get attached in the Empire.

________________________

I love Deric and I don't know why this fucking angst happened.


	11. 11-Family Matters Most

"You have to carry the six, Luke." A ten year old Star put her head down when her brother asked yet another question about his math problems assigned to him by his teacher. Downing another water bottle, she brushed a strand of hair away from her face. It was hot, sticky, and muggy outside, both of her parents gone, having to walk home with her brothers today. They were all sweaty sitting around the table, Leo trying to distract himself with his own homework before dropping his pencil.

"Star............."

"What?" She asked, almost as quiet as he was.

"It's so hooootttt...." he whined back, trying to put one of his pins that he kept in his hair back.

"I know." She answered, flicking her eyes to the clock on the wall. It wasn't even four yet, they had gotten home maybe half an hour ago. Their parents wouldn't get back until about five. The fan was on in the corner but Lord it was Arizona, what the hell did two nine year olds and a ten year old expect? "I don't know what to do."

The three were clad in shorts and tank tops, but Lucas had pulled his off a while ago, and Star would've if she wasn't the only female in her immediate family. Her hair was falling out everytime she moved it, and it wasn't even the bun her papa had expertly done this morning for her. The star-pin long forgotten up in her room. The three didn't dare go upstairs, it was hotter the further you went up, even though it was basically an attic. 

Lucas stood abruptly, a smile that matched their papa's shining in the sun. "We can have a lemonade stand!"

"We don't have any lemons, Luke." Leo mumbled tiredly. "I don't want to go and sit in the sun."

"You know who does?"

"I don't know?" Star shrugged.

"Aunt Mia! She lives a few streets down, we can bike over!"

"A few streets over?"

"Yeah?"

"A U N T M I A L I V E S F U C K I N G F I V E M I L E S F R O M H E R E"

______________________

"Lanky gremlin!"

"Actual gremlin!"

"Star leave him alone, Robi leave her alone." Katie groaned as her son and Star glared at each other before heading off in seperate directions. "Things just never change, do they?"

"They honestly never do." Leo answered, almost nodding off. It was late, and they had just returned from their first real mission, well, more like an actual scout mission. They had found a few stations cluttered around the small galaxy, but they had taken out a few ships on the way back. Unlike how it may have invigorated the old team, Leo had almost fallen asleep, Robi and Star were at each other's necks, Lucas was dull, sprawled out on a couch, and Emersyn had just taken it all in stride, sitting next to her brother, who had dozed off already. "Star's just like that."

"And I know exactly where it came from." She answered in response, looking directly at the devil's parents, who sat together.

"You can't blame it all on us." Lance answered sourly.

"Not all of it, but partly." She said.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before the castle shuddered slightly. Leo perked up right then, walking off towards the control room. Katie didn't move from her spot, as far as she was concearned, it was most likely Coran just tinkering with the castle. But after a few more minutes, even she could tell that she had moved a few inches.

Okay, so she was mildly bothered by this now. Lance had leapt over the couch, heading in the direction Leo had gone. Katie eventually got up, curious about what had happened. The others followed her, drowsy, but she walked a little faster when they reached the doorway to the control room, only finding Leo there with Coran. The Red and Green lions were shooting down scattered fighters near the castle as an ion canon continued trying to shoot them down.

"How much do you bet that they're both trying to rack up a kill count?" Lance asked.

"Twenty bucks."

"You're on Katie." He grinned, reminding her of a time before Star, when they had bet on how long it would be until Shiro finally admitted his feelings to Allura. Lance had gotten that ten dollars that day. Katie would be the one on top today. She was confident of that, Star and Robi were practically Keith and Lance without the underlying romance, and considering they had halfway tried to murder each other earlier today, she was ready to accept the cash.

_________________

 

Short I know, but I needed to update today and fillers are my speciality


	12. 12-First Timers

Eyes fluttering around as the lion submerged itself in water (or whatever the fuck this planet had), Star flicked the lights on, even though they weren't that deep yet. It looked like water, but the last time they'd come across something alien that looked like water, it dID NOT taste right. She shivered at the thought.

"Anyone else a little claustrophobic?" She heard Lucas ask.

"You're literally the blue paladin, Lucas what the hell." Robi asked sourly. "This is like, your element."

"You're element is everything green." Star responded. "Don't talk about Lucas like that."

"I'm surprised you haven't burnt everything to crisp yet."

God damnit and his iron-clad comebacks.

"At least I actually can fly." She smirked, waiting for a response.

"I can fucking fly as well as you can, cherrybomb."

"What the fuck did you just call me!?"

"You guys seriously. Please, let's just focus on the mission at hand." Emersyn said, quieting both apple-colored paladins. "Robi, where was the distress beacon at?"

He sighed before answering, "Somewhere, about maybe 400 feet down from here?"

Star continued down, a little bit further ahead than her fellow paladins due to Red's speed. All sorts of alien ocean-like creatures passed by, some adorable, some grosteque, some large, some minsicule. She had to back a bit to avoid a large, whale-like creature. It was weird how fate worked, Star had been placed as Red and Lucas as Blue, even though she loved sea creatures, and Lucas would've rather stayed as far away from animals such as these. He almost drowned as a kid, so it was understandable, if he had been traumatized by the experience.

"Lucas!"

"Luke!?"

When his eyes had opened, he raged into a coughing fit, coughing up liquid and all sorts of water. She had heard the sighs of relief around the community pool. Once he had weakly smiled at his family, she stood, and bounded over to the sun-tanning thirteen year old and his brother.

"What the actual hell?!" Star had been a lanky teenager then, at fourteen, but folded her arms. She probably looked a little stupid, standing there doused in water, wearing a pink bathing suit with frills everywhere, but at 5"5, standing a few inches above the boy in question, she may have been a little intimidating. She hoped.

"Uh, watch your language?" This boy, Laurie Potts, pissed her off sometimes. This was the last goddamn straw. "Whaddaya want?"

"You tried to drown my brother!"

"Uh, no I didn't."

"Yeah, you've got no proof, get outta here girlie." His older brother taunted. To be honest, she couldn't believe she had liked him at one point, he was so goddamned annoying, and to think she had given him some personal items!

"I saw what you did." She stepped closer, eyes fiery with anger.

"Oh?" The younger boy taunted. "I didn't drown your brother, did I? Just an innocent game of pool volleyball."

"You pushed him under!"

"I was trying to get the ball."

"You know he can't swim!"

She was angry by now, having half a mind to push him into the pool, when Leo tugged at her right hand. Nostrils flaring, she stalked back to her family as they left.

Shuddering now, it got darker, the lights becoming brighter on the lions. "Robi?" Emersyn questioned.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Why don't I see anything?"

The videocams popped up on the viewscreen, most worried, some bored. "I don't know. We're in the right place."

Pulling up her own map, Star's eyes scoured the ocean surrounding them. Whatever it had been, the beacon had been left behind. The rubble itself must've been drowned in the bottomless ocean. The green lion came closer to the outcropping, confirming it. "There's nothing here, guys."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Arrow said, slight worried.

"No Star Wars references!" Lucas said. She could here his worry, frightened almost. Being so far down in the ocean, his reason was valid. How it must've been when Laurie had pushed him down. Just the memory must've scarred him. 

"We should head back, just in case whatever it was comes back." Emersyn said, the Black lion flying upwards. The other lions followed, as the ocean water became lighter. Star had surfaced first, and her eyes widened.

"Shit."

"Star, you say that everytime something bad happens." Emersyn's voice went up in pitch as the others broke the surface. "It's a valid argument, never mind."

"What..." Arrow's voice faded away in confusion. "How'd they find us!?"

"Like every other time!" Robi responded.

"Which is!?"

"However the hell the manage to keep finding us!"

"Do not panic." Emersyn's voice was filled with worry, but eventually she dove back down first, the others following. Star heard the muffled shots fired at them as the water surrounded them once more. "What do we do?"

"I dunno. Run?"

"No! Lucas we are not running from our first fight!"

"Like we have anything to prove to anyone. I say we run, we're safe, the lions are safe, problem solved. It was all a trap anyways." Lucas answered.

"I agree with Luke." Star said. "We're too fragile without Voltron to start a fight."

"Wait, so-"

"You're not the head, Luke." Star's annoyed voice. Emersyn hadn't said anything in the last few minutes, but she heard a groan from her. "Em is."

"Oh. Sorry."

"We're never going to get this! Lucas can't even figure out whether he's the left leg or not!" Robi said sourly.

"Right leg, you mean."

"Left leg." Robi said, expecting her to know this.

"Right leg." Star thought this boy had finally lost his last brain cell at this point.

"Left leg."

"Right!"

"Left!"

"Right. Damned. Leg!"

"Well, now I know why Black didn't pick you."he said, pissed off. "You're not smart enough to tell your left from your right."

"Excuse me WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?" She was halfway done with his bullshit at this point.

"That's it! We're going in now whether you four like it or not! We need to learn how to work together or consider you all fried!"

They both quieted. Their friend had come from both the previous Black paladin and a warrior princess. Emersyn Shirogane was scary when giving orders sometimes.

"If you want to just stay here I'm cool with it." Arrow said kind of sarcastically. "I mean, we might die, drown, or in general never see our parents again. But you know, whatever."

Star worried a little for Lucas' mental health right then, but over the viewscreen, he gave her a genuine smile. Just to let her know he was alright. "I'll have you know I know what I'm doing."

"Then what'd we do?" Robi asked.

"We make a break for it. You see an opening, use it!" And with that, she blasted out of the water, and they heard shots fired again. They looked at each other in the viewscreen, but followed close behind. Eventually, Star had broken the planet's atmosphere, feeling the lion no longer needed its blasters at full power to move. Looking around, trying to multi-task narrowly avoiding canons and guns, she spotted all of the primary colored lions, Black, Yellow, and Blue, and then Green. Another fighter went down as they were trying to fight them all off.

"Should we try that formation again?" Robi asked. "We can try again, right?"

"...maybe." Emersyn pursed her lips. "There's no chance it'll work though."

"We'll take whatever luck we have left. You only live once, right?"

Well, some people do. Star thought to herself. She thought of when she was younger, when her parents were busy. She distinctly remembered a beautiful altean woman, dressed all in white, her hair running in curls down her back. Star didn't know who she was, she had shimmered all in pink and white, and had the voice of an angel. Probably, Star had never heard an angel speak before. Though, she always made sure her aunt came back home after every mission, her guardian angel or whatever looked so much like her. "Right."

Flying up (or down) was weird in space, you could never tell which direction you were going, but something changed right in front of her eyes. Her hands were pressed away from the controls, her view changing. "Did what I think just happen-"

"Actually just happen?" Arrow finished her sentence. "I think that....we've formed Voltron."

"Well don't just sit there! Let's see what we can do!"

First time for everything, right?

______________

"You did good today, Star." A voice.

"W-who's there!?"

A shimmery figure stepped into the light, and she was halfway scared out of her skin. It wasn't Laraine, the altean woman she had come to name. It was a light-skinned girl, with a patch of purple on her left arm. She wore a white dress and flowers decorated her dark-raven colored braid that hung down her back. She was substantially smaller than Star, probably no older than at least five.

"You know who I am."

"I...I don't?" She was confused. Besides Laraine, she had never seen another figure like this. Castle ghosts?! "Sorry..." Her mental health was deteriorating if she saw these people.

"Don't be. I guess... well you've never met me. Not before today..."

"Should I know you?"

"I'm directly related to you, I thought you may have guessed already."

"Uh.....grandmother?"

"No..."

"Aunt?"

"No."

"Cousin thrice-removed?"

"Think more along the lines of immediate family."

Star had to think for a long moment. She hated not being able to figure out this mystery. She looked somewhat familiar, like she had seen the girl somewhere before. But where? Gosh darnit it where?! This was going to fucking keep her up at night.

"Originally, dad and papa wanted to name me Hermina-"

"Holy shit. You-"

"I didn't come back to haunt you, promise. I've always been with you, since....well, since I died." She answered, almost reading his mind "I kind of picked the name Angelle for myself though, I dunno what it means."

"I'm going crazy, I-" Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. This was the sister she had never got to have, to meet, and to think she was standing right in front of her? Deterioration. She had seen it during exams, people had practically lost their minds to the point of having to take off school. She had seen it first hand, when Mina had originally been lost.

"No, don't cry. I'll be here. I've never left your side since the day I died. Promise." She faded as Star reached out to her, completely gone in shimmers of purple.

Stepping back, she shivered, curious.

Why her? Why had Mina picked her to stay around as a guardian angel, of a sort?

_____________________

Sorry. To be honest, Robi and Star can't work together for shit.


	13. 13-Assembly Required

"The all-new, all-different Voltron. How 'bout it team?" Lucas asked, as the five watched from the control room as the mostly desert planet loomed in front of the castle. They all stood around the black paladin's seat, which Emersyn sat on.

"I like it little brother." Star gave him a pat on the back. He glowed from her praise. Usually she only argued with him. Strange, maybe she was turning over a new leaf.

Maybe....

"This is our first diplomatic mission. Try not to fuck it up, Star." Robi said.

Okay what was his problem? Ever since he'd gotten here he'd been kind of reclusive, almost like Lucas and Star's dad, both in terms of mindset and comebacks. Little to say, Star and Robi did NOT like each other one bit. Every oppurtunity to argue and debate with each other, both of them took.

"Excuse me?"

"You argue with everyone you meet. It'd be nice for you not to yell at everyone this time." He cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the raven-haired girl to answer.

"I could say the same about you." She shot back.

They bickered back and forth, and to be honest, the other primary-colored paladins were just annoyed and done with them.

He sometimes wondered whether this was foreshadowing or some bullshit like that. But anyone who fought that much, couldn't possibly be in any sort of love. No fucking way.

Well, there was the example of his parents, but that had been a valid reason.

Emersyn was having problems leading this all-new, all-different new Voltron team, Lucas could tell. She always had a hard time giving orders, less she was yelling directly at all of them until they submitted to whatever she was trying to get them to do. Lucas tried his best, honestly he did, but save for the one time that they had formed Voltron -the first time, let's not even forget that-they had worked together long enough to take down a few cruisers and battle ships, testing their new weapon, before escaping.

Since then, they had managed to add a few dents to the lions trying to reform Voltron. Eventually they'd just given up trying, and realized the worked better apart. Of course, that may not be the case in the future, but for right now, this Voltron needed some tools, like a box that said 'Some Assembly Required'

Lucas wasn't going to even skirt the issue, they needed help, honestly. This wasn't a 'Keith and Lance are fighting again' sort of problem, it was 'the new paladins can't even kinda work together' kinda problem. Arrow was too timid for his own good, Robi disliked everyone, Emersyn wasn't the best leader, Star was too much of a fighter for her own good, and Lucas himself....he didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't the best working with others. Not to mention water and him didn't do well when he was submerged in the liquid. Trying to swim was bitch after that.

"Would you two SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" Emersyn shouted, quieting both paladins. "If you could both get us through this damned mission, maybe we'd have a chance at doing this 'working together' thing!" 

"Yes ma'am." They answered timidly, almost like children. Half the time, Lucas wanted to high-five the black paladin for getting them to shut up sometimes, but with the murderous glare she gave them, he hesitated before thinking not so.

Shano and Leo had it so easy. They were in casual clothing, watching the stars pass by sitting next to each other in front. He could tell his brother was so happy with the altean, they silently shared a laugh before facing somewhere away from each other to the rest of the castle.

They never had to go out and deal with their fears first hand. They got to sit here and probably kiss each other's faces off for the entire day. Should they have been on earth, Leo would've probably be content to point out art in the popcorn ceiling with BTS on repeat.

And aesthetics. A fuck-ton of aesthetics.

Ignoring that, his mind wandered to the task ahead.

___________________

"No! C'mon Allura!"

"You were the one who asked to play."

The original paladins sat around the dining table, Lance groaned as he handed over ten more dollars to the trumphiant alien queen. Coran had pulled out a few old games that the kids had looked at when they were younger, but their eyes glazing over because of the language and culture barrier. The results were mostly comedical, Lance almost getting up to leave because he had lost so many games, losing more than thirty dollars in the damned game. He sighed in dissapointment, "Point taken."

"Well that's alright if the rest of you don't want to play anymore." Katie said, sitting back in a chair, easily just plain done with everything. "Allura, we're all halfway broke now, not even to mention that you've never been to Earth. What the hell do you plan to do with all of this?"

She laughed. "I was planning to give it all to Shiro, but I guess you can have it back."

A while passed, playing games back and forth before they all realized Allura had become a bit tense, distracted almost. "Allura?"

"Oh! Sorry, I got a little distracted." She answered sheepishly.

"About what?" Katie asked, fumbling with a game piece.

"It's just...shouldn't they be back by now?" Lance and the others knew that she always worried for her children, now for Emersyn more than ever. "Maybe-"

"They'll be back soon enough." Keith answered, moving his own game piece on the board. "It was you who said they needed to be independent from now on."

"Yeah, Lance I never got that twenty dollars you promised me." He groaned as Katie reminded him of the bet they had made. He didn't fork over the money though, he was almost out of cash.

"What were you two betting on?" Hunk asked.

"Whether or not Robi and Star were halfway murdering each other." Katie sat back in her chair, crossing her arms in defeat. "I won, obviously."

"They'll learn how to work with each other." Shiro sighed. "Remember how Keith and Lance couldn't work together for shit and now we're sitting here waiting on two of their children to come back." That earned a laugh from the others.

"You don't think that-" Lance didn't even want to finish that sentence. "That-"

"Nope. That's one other thing I'll bet on. There is no way in hell they could end up like you two. They're too different." Katie responded.

"O-kay. Moving on from that subject." Lance wasn't sure why it made Keith so uneasy to talk about things like that, but he let it slide.

"Oooh! Story time!" Katie prompted. "Let's so do that!"

"But you basically know everything about our kids, what about Robi?" Lance questioned.

"There's not much to tell or say. He's always been reclusive. I swear my mom and I have tried, there's nothing we can do. I mean, his mom died when he was three, that's gotta scar someone."

"Have you tried just..being close with him?" Katie glared at Shiro.

"No what the fuck do you think I've been doing for the last eleven years? YES OF COURSE I HAVE."

"So what do you want? Help, or to just vent to someone about your 'perfect little angel'?" Keith asked sarcastically. "Neither of which I can do, or feel like doing right now.

Keith was always one for the hard truth, and this was no exception.

______________

"Holy fuck."

"Well, that just happened." 

Running a towel through her damp hair, Emersyn was shocked on how this diplomatic mission had spiraled downhill in a matter of half an hour. Just a note to self, Gryel's were fucking insane. Emersyn didn't usually like to say that about people, but they really were. "No lie there."

Star followed close behind, braiding her own hair over her shoulder. They had come back from the showers and getting dressed after the mission, and from the looks of it, they had gotten out before the boys had. "Don't lie though, that prince was kinda cute."

"He almost got us killed."

"He was though!"

"Frankly, I find it a little disquieting that you let your eyes betray the mission. Next time, don't have wandering eyes, okay Star?" Emersyn asked dryly. Star shrugged and nodded.

Emersyn smiled to herself. She never saw herself as a mentor, nor a replacement for Star's sister Mina, but they were closer than Emersyn would've ever believed. Star confided in her at times, and when Emersyn needed help, Star did the same for her. But, Star was special to her, and living with her family for quite a while proved to be both interesting, but it also made her happy to know there were others who cared for her, that she and her family weren't the only ones in this expanse of cold, star filled galaxy.

"The bunsen burner?"

"You're saying there was an incident with a bunsen burner too? How the hell-"

"That girl is one hot mess sometimes."

Star speeded up, heading to the dining room. Emersyn wasn't extremely sure what a bunsen burner was, but she followed close behind. Peeking inside with her, it was more of a hot mess than they claimed Star was. 

Everyone was laughing, sharing old stories of their children and their wacky adventures. Emersyn smiled as her parents' re-told an old story from Shano's childhood, and then one from her own. They weren't sure how long they listened, but when they turned to look to each other, the boys had been listening too.

Only looking at each other, they burst out into laughter themselves, Robi even showed a rare smile in response. Of course, it diverted their parents' attention from the stories to their spying children, but soon they were all telling stories back and forth.

Looking around at her fellow paladins, she mentally relaxed. Maybe it would take a while for them to figure it out, but with some training, much needed assemlbly, and getting to really know on another, the new Voltron would be able to work together with little to no problems.

It was a strained hopefully....but Emersyn had good feelings about it.


	14. 14-Fragile

"Who are we really up against?" Robi asked, after a long battle. Everyone was worn after fighting the new enemies, the Empire was so strange. After three months as paladins now, everyone had grown to their roles. Of course, he and Star still bickered every once and a while, that was just who they were (it may have been her fault, she was just so fucking annoying sometimes.), and problems arose left and right, that was just who they were.

"The empire, duh." Star retorted. "Who did you think, the illuminati?"

"Not what I meant. Like Zarkon, or Lotor, there has to be one person at the head right now." Robi elaborated.

"Oh."

"Robi's not wrong. That's really something we'll have to look into. Right now, we're just too fragile to start a fight. Our Voltron formation is getting better, but it's not always reliable." Emersyn said. "I'm looking into tips from our parents, but I can't always rely on them either. It'll be something we'll all learn."

Robi wondered what his mother would think of all this. That he'd basically dropped out of school to be the universe's protector.

She'd probably say something along the lines of 'Go back to school baby boy.' and then she'd give him a cookie from the painted jar she'd brought with her from Cuba. He accidentally remembered the shards of the jar that floated in the water when he saw his mother's head go under.

And never come back up. 

He had tried to dive back under to grab her, but someone had pulled him away from the house.

He'd cried on the way to the shelter.

He'd cried all the way through the first night he'd been alone, the other side of the bed cold without his mother's presence.

Eventually, when adoption had come up, he'd been all cried out.

I no way did he hate Katie, she and her mother had been kind enough to take him in, it was just hard to learn to love again. No one would ever be an adequate replacement for his mother, the kindest woman in the world, who had died unfairly saving her son from drowning.

"Right." He responded. "Wherever there's a hierarchy, there's a leader."

____________________

"Go left!"

"I did!"

The annoying electrical (or whatever the fuck the castle worked on) ran through Star's veins at this point. "You're friggin' terrible at this!"

"C'mon you guys. It's supposed to be bonding excersise. Can you please work together?" Emersyn exasperated sigh made Star question who actually put her up to this, her uncle Shiro or aunt Allura. Whichever, Star also questioned whether Emersyn had ulterior motives for putting her and Robi together.

Nah, Emersyn had an ulterior motive for everything when it came to the team.

"I would if I could." Robi said, probably just as annoyed as she was at this point.

"The one and only time I'll agree with him." She said, hearing the tell-tale sign of the electrical walls coming down. She took off her helmet.

In Star's mind, Emersyn was trying too hard. There was no way that by the time her next birthday came around she'd be all buddy-buddy with Robi Holt, and vice versa. It was a non-starter, he contradicted everything she said, he acted like he was better than her. Half the time he was lucky that she didn't have her bayard lying nearby, the shotgun pointed and ready. Of course, she wasn't totally sure what it was going do against a blaster, but oh well.

Grumbling as walked away from the training deck, she opened the door to Red's hangar. The lion's eyes lit up as she came closer, allowing her inside. Star wasn't actually going to go anywhere. While she did feel safest with her parents, inside the castle surrounded by her family, just sitting in the empty cockpit of Red made her happy and mostly safe.

"Kitty!"

"You want to see Red this early in the morning baby girl?" Lance asked a three year old Star. She gave him a toothy smile. Hoping not to bother the sleeping figure next to them both, he picked her up, and briefly checking on the sleeping infants, they left the room. "Alright then."

He felt her hands tighten on his jacket as they walked further into the castle, the lights out. He pulled her a bit closer, and her eyes found his. He gave a her a smile, and she did the same, gurgling happily.

As the hangar door opened, Star laughed. "Kitty!!"

He was sure if Red could talk, she would be more than happy to see the toddler.

The stars always mesmerized his only daughter, it was amazing really The two had used it as a tactic to calm her when she was crying, which Katie called cheating. She giggled when Red took off, absent-mindedly reaching for the stars that surrounded them. He did have to hold her back, just so she wouldn't fall. They didn't stay floating around the castle for long, as he heard her yawn.

Saying goodbye to Red, Star did as well- Red purred in response- he almost jumped out of his skin once he found Keith waiting next to the hangar door.

"Where have you been!?" He asked hastily as he took Star from him.

"We only went for a little trip around the castle. Isn't that right baby?" He kissed her forehead, making her giggle. "Why?"

"I woke up to find Lucas crying like no tommorow, and neither you or Star there! I have every reason to worry!"

"Well, we're back now, aren't we? Besides, Star loves Red." He answered. "And is that a little overprotective mother I hear?"

"Don't you dare."

She laughed mildly at the memory. Her parents really did care for all three of their children. Star evaluated what she really thought of Robi. To be honest, she didn't mean to be so...hot-headed all the time. But she also laughed, at the fact her parents had given her permission to use them as the excuse for the way she turned out.

While she hadn't meant to leave the castle, she did go for a little joyride around the castle. She loved to feel of flight in space, tethered to nothing but her own choices. 

There was no way she was better than either of her parents, and she never would be, but finally ending looking to the ever-expanding galaxy, Star found herself giddy with excitement of what the future would hold.


	15. 15-I'm Still Standing

"Why do you look like you're ready to murder someone, Luke?"

"Huh?" His grip on a spoon untensed when he looked at his older brother, who sat next to him. The normal chatter of the dining room went on.

"You look like you're going to kill someone." He elaborated.

"It's nothing, really." Leo didn't believe his brother, he had gotten good over the years learning when his siblings and parents were bothered by something.

What could've possibly been bothering him though? Star and Robi were having a heated debate across the table, Emersyn and Arrow were carrying on a conversation, Shano continually pestered him about silly things that always brought a blush to his face, and their parents....well they were doing whatever the fuck space parents do. "Yeah sure."

Leo McClain always knew how to get secrets out of his brother.

This was no exception.

"I'm a little on edge right now, okay? The Galra haven't been seen in the last few weeks." He answered in a huff.

"That's not all you're on edge about." He whispered. Lucas' eyes widened before turning away from his brother. "C'mon, spill."

He hesitated before answering. "Not now, Leo."

He let the matter slide.

And then something hit him in the face. The chatter stopped immediatly as whatever it was slid down his face. Rubbing it away, he looked around the table suspicously.

"You are a terrible aim for someone with a blaster." Star said unbelivably sour. Leo watched as Robi hit her in the forehead with goo.

"Like that?" He smirked in response.

"You really want to go there right now, Holt?"

He only did it again in response before she growled and tossed her entire bowl on his head. He only saw Arrow duck under the table until they had managed to cause a complete mess in the dining room. Lucas and Leo stayed under the table as Arrow had also joined the fight along with Emersyn and Shano.

"So-"

"So I'll tell you when we're not in danger of dying from flying alien food."

"Yeah, but I'll forget by then." He said. Lucas pouted for a moment, and then whispered into his ear. Leo's eyes widened once they pulled apart.

"You tell anyone, you're dead." He was red as Leo smiled sheepishly.

"Understood."

Peeking out above the table, it was complete pandemonium. Emersyn had taken Star's side, Shano and Arrow with Robi. They were all laughing though, making it all the more hilarious. To be honest, Leo didn't think they were even angry at each other any more. It made Leo smile, as he avoided yet another flying projectile.

Bonding 101.

"What the hell?"

Food stopped flying. The laughing ended abruptly. Leo was surprised that no food was just suspended above the table.

__________________

"How do you know when you're doing a good job, Black? Is it more mind over matter ir?"

Emersyn had lost it at this point. Or maybe she hadn't. She had asked the same question to both of her parents, and then her uncle, but none of them gave her a satisfactory answer.

How did you know whether you were doing well at something you had never done before?

While Emersyn was the leader, she felt everyone had surpassed her with bonding. With their lions of course. Red was always in link with Star, Blue and Lucas had an unbreakable bond, Green and Robi had learned to work with each other, and Arrow and Yellow were in sync with each other.

And that left her and Black.

Keith had said Black was one of the lions that was the most mysterious and hardest to control. Emersyn didn't disagree with him. She hadn't been able to do much on the bonding sort of side of things.

But Emersyn had never been the dreamer between her and her brother. She was always the one who was 'down to earth'.

Of course, they were mechanical animals. Were they capable of feeling things like affection towards their paladins? Maybe, maybe not.

Closing her eyes only momentarily, she felt a strange whip of cold air wind around her. She shivered when she opened her eyes again.

Emersyn almost panicked. She wasn't in the lion anymore, she was somewhere where it was dark, indistinguishable almost. Stars fluttered around her as she whipped around. Hoping, wishing there was someone, maybe a reason, for why she was here. It just seemed so...unnatural.

She then layed eyes upon a figure in the distance. Right as she turned to look at them, they turned to look at her.

It was a Galra male, easily. His hair was short, but white as Earthen snow. His eyes widened once he saw her, and she backed away. Fearful.

Why had Black brought her here!? With him?

"D-Don't run! I won't hurt you." His voice quieted as he came closer, Emersyn backing up all the while. 

"W-who are you!?" She absent-mindedly reached for her bayard, and panicked when she realized it wasn't there. Tripping, she fell on her back.

"Just...look I'm serious-"

"Tell me who you are!" She shouted.

He hesitated. The man sighed before answering. "Prince Deric, I assume you are the princess of Altea?"

She was more the frightened now. How did he know?! Would she give him the benefit of the doubt?

And wait a second.

He was Prince Deric of the Galra Empire.

She had been right. There was a leader. And it sure wasn't Lotor from the looks of it.

"I-I, you're right."

"Do I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"No." She stood, cautious. He must've been on the offensive now. Trying to know who she was so he could get underneath her skin.

Emersyn Shirogane was smarter than that.

"I'm not going to fight you. I'm smarter than my grandfather, or my father in general."

"So you admit you're Lotor's son."

"I never denied it."

He stood at least a half a foot taller than her, but she stood her ground, not moving as he then stood in front of her. "I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"If you hand over one lion, I'll leave the galaxy alone."

That was one of the dumbest deals Emersyn had ever heard of.

"What'll you do with this 'one lion'. No one can pilot it except for their paladin." She crossed her arms in disgust.

"You don't like that one?"

"No." She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. What did this 'prince' have in store next?

"Marry me." He took both of her hands as she struggled to get out of his grip. "If you dislike the first deal-"

"I'd rather die before I'd marry a scoundrel, someone the likes of you!" Just as he was about to do...whatever he was ready to do, the wind whipped around both of them. His grip loosened as she stepped back, the wind stronger than before.

Hoping, wishing, she closed her eyes, hoping for the same result as before.

Then, Emersyn had realized she'd never left the castle.

Or Black.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

________________

Basically Black wanted to see what she was working with and basically pitted her against Deric. Don't ask how it's possible.


	16. 16-Plans

"Black...Black took me to the astral plane."

"What the hell is an astral plane?" Lucas asked, sitting nearby.

"Sword art Online, but in a galaxy. I guess." Star said sarcastically. 

"So no one is asking who this Prince is? Or how we should fight him?" Arrow asked, exasperated.

"Some of us are more curious why she was taken there." Robi said.

"Okay! Look, what happened happened. We're moving on." Emersyn sighed. "At least we have a piece of the empire now, we have a basic idea of who's part of it."

"So what's next then?" Shano asked. "Now we know who Prince Deric is, what do we do with that information?"

No one knew how to answer that question. What were they supposed to do now? It was one of those moments that the new paladins didn't know what to do.

None of them had decided to tell the previous paladins, Emersyn was having one of those moments that she wanted to take it on by herself, as her mother and her father asked her to do so. So very often.

But, she wanted to be five years old again, hiding behind Star as Shano chased her around. While it probably was traumatic for everyone involved, at this point Emersyn wanted to stick her head in the sand and let the rest of the team figure out how to function without her. Even after maybe a half a year of this, it was just becoming more and more of a hassle.

Everyone else had a normal-sorta childhood.

Maybe she was over-thinking this.

Maybe being halfway exhausted for the rest of her life was a side-effect of being a paladin.

But, taking a deep breath, she knew inside she was being immature about it. Black picked her for a reason, and while she didn't know what that reason was, there was always a higher force working. Maybe it was destiny.

"Well, we're not just going to sit around, are we? Yes, we will do something. Just....I haven't figured it out yet." Emersyn admitted.

"We'll be here when you do." Star said. "Not like we're going anywhere or have anything better to do."

"You say it like it's a bad thing." Robi snickered.

"I could be taking a driver's ed class right now, hanging out with my friends, going on a date with a boyfriend-"

"You've probably never even had one."

At this point Star tried to tackle the older, lanky teenager and he dodged. "You just love making me feel worse about myself, don't you?"

"I didn't say that directly."

"You've never had a girlfriend before either, so shut your quiznak."

"One, you're not even using that word correctly, and second of all, none of us have. Except for maybe your brother."

"Bitch shut your quiznak before I decide to-"

"To what?"

"Okay! That's the challenge for this week!" Emersyn shouted, kind of worried that she (or he) may end up shooting one another in the head before they even hit the one year mark. She had the most beautiful idea that just might help them figure out their differences, and get another species/planet on the side of the resistance and Voltron.

"What?" Everyone asked in unison.

"We're going on our next diplomatic mission in two weeks. These people are basically humans but with trust issues."

"That's every human, Em." Lucas said, smiling. "What's so different about these?"

"No, like serious trust issues, Luke."

"Like I said, humans."

"Anyways." she thought for a moment, we're all humans unable to trust others very easily? "They want to be able to trust us, and they'll have to see we have the ability to love."

"Two of us are siblings. Boom, done, problem solved." Star said jokingly.

"Non-family love, Star." She smirked, excited for her plan to be put into motion.

"So send Leo and Shano." Star herself was slightly worried why Emersyn looked like she had this crazy plan. It wasn't something she saw often, but when she did, it was always some crazy plan that nobody liked.

"He-he....what's the word on Earth for male-female love?"

"Heterosexual?" Lucas volunteered.

"Y-yes? Anyways, that's why for three days you and Robi will be our ticket in." 

The responses were mixed.

"NO! Ohmygod EM!" Star stood by the door, simutaneously banging her forehead on the wall. 

"Nope. My answer is no and I give no consent for this." Robi answered soberly.

"This is going to be fucking hilarious." Lucas and Leo smiled, trying to hold back laughs, as Shano laughed loudly. Emersyn was proud of herself for this one, this was the best idea she'd had since she'd become the new head of Voltron.

While it would be hilarious for them to pretend to be girlfriend/boyfriend for three days straight, Emersyn knew it would force them to learn to trust each other, and possibly some extra bonding time. Everyone else worked together fine, Robi and Star were the best at working with others, but with each other, it always became a problem. It didn't help that they were both arms either.

In the back of her mind she did think of how Star's parents had eventually learned to work together, and even to love one another. That would be an actual bonus if they learned to be friends.

"You're doing it whether you like it or not."

"Why can't you do it!?" They both whined.

"Because I'll be in meetings all those three days."

That wasn't completely true, she would be in meetings, but only for a half of a day on the second day of their diplomatic trip. She'd have plenty of time to herself, but really the testosterone running through the castle wasn't very good pickings at the moment. People could change, but Emersyn did not feel like doing so.

"Bullshit."

"And maybe learn how to act like a lady, Star?"

"Fuck that."

"You're gonna have to if you want these people on our side of the war."

Her left eye twitched in anger, but eventually cooled off. "Fine. In no way is this permanant?"

"Right."

"Good. Hope none of ya'll expect PDA."

"We won't, they might." Emersyn knew she was pushing some boundaries by lying to her friend, but it was kind of fun to see the older girl squirm. She'd tell her the truth soon enough.

"Evil I tell you." Robi muttered as he left the room. Star walked off in the opposite direction.

"Hey Em." Lucas asked after they had dispersed. "What are the chances they'll kill each other?"

"50/50, I'd say."

"On Earth, those aren't the greatest odds."

"You asked what they were and I gave them to you."

______________________

RobStar is like the most popular ship in this book right now.

What even XD

Anyways, Endgame is the next few chapters, meaning the series will be over in the next few chapters :D


	17. 17-Endgame (Part One)

"Just so you know, I don't like this anymore than you do."

Star was acting a little immature, she would admit that, but Robi Holt.

Why the hell.

Sure, at one point, before she had met him, she thought he was kinda cute.

But knowing him as a fellow paladin and another inhabitant of the castle, she wasn't so sure he was this perfect looking boy anymore. He was annoying, and argued with her even if she made a point she was so sure was correct.

Star didn't even kinda like what Emersyn had blantantly picked out for her to wear to this friggin' thing. A few more altean clothes, a dress that was blue and the golds accented. She had originally wanted to wear a sweater-dress sort of thing she had bought back when she was at the Garrison, but Emersyn's response had basically been a 'fuck that'.

Star would never collaborate with her on anything ever again. A complete nightmare.

"You're gonna have to get off your high horse and deal with it."

Fuck that, she might be dead by the end of the weekend from exposure to this boy!

Fingering one of the many curls that her papa had willingly done for her, she tried to not wipe off the full face of makeup that literally felt like it was caked on. It wasn't, of course her papa had this almost magical touch with makeup, but she had hold herself back from using the sleeve of the silk-like dress' sleeve.

"Good, neither do I." Robi responded. He sighed before he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, following the other paladins. For a moment, she felt her cheeks heat, and then fade away as the came closer to the other paladins.

These people didn't expect them to come in armor, so they had all (except for Star) coded with their colors, Emersyn in a regal color of black, her brother in a blue, fancy shirt he had borrowed from Shano for the day, and Arrow looked like he was drowning in the shirt he had also borrowed from Shano. Star pitied the poor Arrow Garret. She didn't even know him that well, but he just looked a cinnamon roll that needed love. He was so reclusive, but so quiet. He wanted to get to know them, but was just so shy!

"Emersyn Shirogane." She shook hands with the tall, human-like figure. It was a male, with hair like her own, and skin as white as paper. His eyes were a piercing color of blue, and to be honest, she would take this one over Robi any day.

"Jieader Oman." He had a warm smile that made Star tingle inside. He was so cute! If by human terms, he couldn't have been much older than her. "I'm the chief of this colony."

"There are more?" Emersyn questioned.

"Well, there were. We only just made it out of our last battle with the Galra, we lost the two remaining colonies two weeks ago." He answered sadly. "We were hoping you could help."

"We'd never say no to a person in need." Emersyn said, smiling in response. Even while she was talking plans with Jieader, his eyes always flickered around the paladins. When they came to Star and Robi, he immediatly laid a hand over hers. It always made her flinch, but if he noticed, he didn't make a note of it.

They sat around the small meeting room, and when she wasn't pretending to listen intently to the plans they made back and forth, she let herself wander. The art pieces around the room were captivating her attention, they were made with some type of string in various colors depicting great fights of their species. There were mantles laid across on shelves, beautiful minerals.

"Do you like our treasures?" Star was startled for a moment when she had realized she was staring, blatantly not even listening.

"Y-yeah."

"Many have been collected around the colonies. When they fall, we move them to some of the last standing colonies we have left. Each one is from each chief."

Star shuddered for a moment. There were so many! How many colonies had fell before they arrived?

Turning away from the treasure-filled-wall-of-death, she tried not to fall asleep. There was something setting her on edge and she didn't know what it was. She'd been around her parents too long if something like that was bothering her.

But...

_______________

It was cold.

Freezing cold.

Nobody had told Lucas that it would be 300 degrees below zero in the damned tents that the chief had given them to stay in! Of course, Jieader was kind and gave them seperate tents, and a warm dinner, but holy hell he hadn't said anything about how cold it was at night!

Usually Lucas didn't care, but usually he wasn't wearing paper-thin pajamas!

Why didn't Leo get blue!? He was practically a fish at this point, and he loved being in sweaters. For Lucas, it was like being trapped in a ball of thread. Everything warm was his territory and always had been.

What ulterior motives did Blue have for him? Of course he loved his brother, but why Lucas and not him?

Turning what he thought was a kersone lamp on, he wondered whether or not it actually radiated heat. Just as he was about to touch the flickering flame, something shifted outside the tent. He panicked, his heart dropping. Jieader had warned them there were wild animals that wandered on the outside of the colony. He and his paladins had been placed near the center, but he wildly blew out the lamp, scrambling for his bayard. Activating the sword, he held it pointed to the entrance of the tent.

He almost screamed when the tent flap moved, and then opened to reveal a scared Star. "Holy shit! Lil' bro chill, it's just me!"

Once he had gotten his heart rate back to a normal level, the bayard put away and the lamp re-lit, Star sat next to him on her own blanket. "You're not sleeping with Robi?"

"No! That's laying it on WAY too thick for my liking!" Her face flashed red before it dissapated.

"Then why are you here?" He shivered.

"It's cold!"

"Go to Emersyn, stop trying to steal my body heat!"

"Yeah, but she's sleep, and she is no way a morning person." Star whined, enveloping him in a hug.

Lucas was about to argue with that statement-Emersyn got up with her father, at sometime around seven PST time, while Shano and Allura slept in, so her statement was invalid- when they heard a high-pitched somewhere outside of the tent, or the square. They looked at each other before Star grabbed the lamp and Lucas activated his bayard.

Dashing outside in a mess of pajamas, he held it front of him, as they creeped forward to where they'd heard it. Lucas looked around the corner of a building and immediatly backed up. Star did the same.

A body.

A limp body that Star raced forward to identify.

"S-star?" A familiar voice croaked.

His eyes widened as he recognized the one and only said leader.

There were multiple cuts along her right arm, her hair stuck to her as her dull eyes were so close to closing. Other than on her right limb, there was blood on her leg, but they didn't pay too close attention to it. "Em! What-"

"I-I was looking for Jieader, I heard something near my tent-" She struggled to keep her eyes open, tired and losing blood quick. "Before...someone-"

Lucas didn't want to listen any longer. "We have to find Jieader. Star-"

"I'll find him, take her back to her tent and try to staunch the blood with any blankets you can find!" She got up and ran back towards the large building in the corner of the colony. After she had gone, Emersyn's eyes darted to Lucas.

"Can you walk?" He asked, worried.

"I.. I don't really think so-" Lucas took her by the hand, and testing his weight, he picked her up. She didn't really do anything to show she was displeased, and she put her chin on his shoulder, allowing him to run back to the camp circle. By the time he had gotten back, a groggy Arrow and a confused Robi were both up, about to ask a multitude of questions.

What the hell had happened?!


	18. 18-Endgame(Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *mentions of supposed death*

It was still dark when Star returned to the crowded tent, a sleeping Emersyn, and the boys sitting around her.

"Anything?" Lucas asked, a touch of worry in his voice.

"There isn't anyone up, or they're purposely avoiding us. I didn't see anything and the doors were locked." Star said, kneeling next to her best friend.

"Told you these people were bad news." Robi said.

"You didn't say that! And besides, my dad said it first!" Star shot back.

"Literally when one of us is dying! You still yell and fight like children! Star I know you're better than this!" Lucas was exasperated, finally done with his sister and her antics.

"Luke?"

"What?"

"What's four minus three?"

"One-"

Star held up her middle finger, flipping her brother off. He rolled his eyes, as Robi cracked a smile. It was kind of surprising, and what was even more surprising was that he gave her a high-five. And-hesitating of course- she accepted it.

If this was Emersyn's plan all along...Lucas was cool with it.

They stayed like this until what Lucas assumed was the wee hours of the morning, Star sleeping next to Robi, Emersyn still soundly asleep, and Arrow leaning on his shoulder. Blinking a few times, he rubbed his eyes, walking over to his own tent to get started with the day.

Once he found himself refreshed and fresh looking, he took a deep breath before heading out walking back to Emersyn's tent, where they still slept soundly. Smiling, satisfied the were safe where they were, he walked into the main square, the colony bustling with trade rather than the desolate space it was last night. He waved hello to a few females, and bought a fruit from an old lady at a stand. After winding around the colony, seeing some of the odd monuments-of old chiefs and such- and a few over-stuffed graveyards -which he made a note to tell the rest of the team about- he finally stood in front of the large meeting building.

Walking inside the warm hallway, he looked around the strangely empty building, compared to outside. Pushing through the heat, he walked inside, looking for....well anyone.

After walking for what felt like quite a while, he felt something brush the back of his neck, startling him. He twisted around to see a white haired woman, skinny and sunken in, creepily like how his aunt had described the mystical Haggar.

He shivered at the memory, but regained his composure. "Hi?"

"Hello?"

"Uh-"

"Do you need something, paladin?" She asked, her voice raspy and quiet. Even though Lucas couldn't hear her well, something about her just gave him the heebie-jeebies. "This building is only for the chief and his cabinet."

Where these humans? Were they early generations to space? They were so confusing, so much like humans, but not even knowing much about the new Earth. It was just so hard to understand, cabinets were used in America for the president and such. "I'm looking for the chief."

He expected her to leave, maybe to point out directions, but she stood, firm-footed but hunched over. The resemblence was more than just creepy at this point. "Why?"

He hesitated to answer. Why did this woman need to know his business? Lucas sighed before answering this pesky woman's question. "Something...disturbing happened last night, I feel he should know."

"Things that are disturbing happen every night here. You were probably in the wrong place at the wrong time." She answered monotonously. "You'll be fine."

"But, we're here on a diplomatic mission." He blurted. "He has a right to know what happens to his allies!"

"Really? Can it not wait?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What do you need?"

"My friend was attacked late last night-"

"Where was your friend?" She interrupted.

"She was looking for the chief, for a follow-up on the morning's meeting." He responded.

"In the middle of the night?" An eyebrow raise.

"We function on a different time zone, I apologize in advance." Lucas said. Maybe he'd take the diplomatic, more less violent route. That's basically what everyone else did, right? Talk first, think later? 

She was more suspicous of him now. Strange, well, for him. Of course! They were new arrivals, this woman had be an elder (or possibly dust), she probably had been here before the idea of his sister even came about. Or his parents. "Look, I- and my allies- are just as confused as you are right now."

"No, I do believe I have an idea of what happened. Animals -wild ones- like to wander at night, but there have been an inflated amount of reports of.... murd-"

"Lucas, right?" Jieader stepped in from the shadows, and the woman immediatly clammed up. "I was looking for Emersyn, but I found you."

He turned to old lady. "Uishiara, are you filling people's heads with nonsense again?"

A creepy, forced smile stretched onto her face. "No sir. Simply....a....tour guide."

He looked to Lucas, questioning her credibility. Looking at him in the hot room with the lights blazing down on them, he didn't look nearly as innocent as he was yesterday. He'd probably regret it later, but he nodded vigorously, trusting the 'Uishiara' for now.

Star might not approve of his choices right then, but Jieader was just getting less credible by the moment. His eyes flickered around, ushering them out quickly. Lucas heard a clang, something sounding close to a bayard dropping on the floor. He spun around to find Jieader waving them away, kicking something into the next room. Those treasures, he thought, weaving back to where the tents were, were all from chiefs, their names engraved in the metal. The girls, probably infatuated with Jieader, Arrow, too innocent to know much, and Robi, who had probably made a mental note about it, they had all probably never really noticed how many there were.

While it may have really been because of the jungle animals on-planet that killed the leaders, it wouldn't explain how Jieader and this 'last-standing colony' actually had them, wouldn't it be dangerous to go in somewhere like that where the animals run rampant? Lucas was unusually thinking this over.

Was it now because one of his own had been out last night?

Shaking it off, he headed back to the tents with this newfound information.

___________________

"Why am I the bait?" Arrow whined, clinging onto her with a death grip.

"Because, you're the smallest, and they probably assume you're the weakest." Star blew out the lamp, hiding behind a building with Emersyn. Robi and Lucas were on the other side of the street. They were all armed with their bayards ready.

"But-" she made a 'shush' motion, and he quieted, pouting. The chances of their plan -see who would come out to attack Arrow would probably be the same person who'd done it to Emersyn as well- actually working was pretty low, but they were all right there, Arrow was safe.

They waited for what felt like forever. Even Arrow was bored and had been wandering around in circles for the last fifteen minutes. Star contemplated whether or not it would actually work, they must've known that they were on high-alert now because of the conversation Lucas and Jieader had earlier in the day.

If it was some bullshit like Jieader (or his damned cabinet) thought that Robi and Star weren't acting well enough.....well fuck them they have another thing coming. Arrow had mentioned earlier in the day over the first meal of....something attempting to resemble altean goo. Star was starving, but she didn't touch it. No one else did, Emersyn had warned them they may have been trying to poison them.

It may have been some of the reason they had sent him out as bait and not Robi, because Star had been all ears for a plan like that.

Something brushed against her right hand, and Emersyn just barely turned before it pounced. Star rolled away, alerting the others that there was another presence within. Activating her bayard hastily, she held whatever it was at gunpoint. Emersyn tried to relight the lamp as both girls stood from their hiding place, the thing still taller.

The flame flickered on, and Star's eyes widened. It was Jieader, a knife in one hand and a mask over the lower portion of his face. There were other shadows in the distance. "Jieader?" Emersyn asked, her voice shaky with fear.

"Em-"

"Don't come any closer!" Star yelled, holding up the gun, showing she would shoot at any given moment. Surprisingly, Emersyn didn't tell her to put it down. He didn't. "Set a foot forward and your brains will be on the sand."

"W-what, why...what were your true intentions for calling us here?" Emersyn asked, quiet. He sighed, dropping the knife, the shadows becoming people.

"Originally, we were resistance members...for the Galra. We were working for them, but the people of the colony didn't-"

"Uishiara. She resisted you, didn't she?" Lucas interrupted.

"Yes." He sighed in defeat. "Then you arrived and...we realized you weren't as evil as Lotor had made us believe."

"If you knew that, why were you planning to...end her?" Robi asked, his voice stern.

"We had to finish the job, and if we didn't, the Galra would re-inslave us."

"But Lotor doesn't do that, he's a diplomatic leader, really-"

"Deric! It has to be Deric, Lotor doesn't take prisoners anymore unless need be." Arrow's quiet voice scared her when she realized he'd snuck back to where they were.

"Like I said, we had to finish the job. We were supposed to kill one of you, rendering Voltron useless, but...I couldn't."

"The treasures. The treasures in the office! Where did you get them from!?" Star's hands were shaky now, her hands uncontrollably waving the gun around. Jieader's eyes were still pinned on it as he stalled for time. She fingered the trigger.

"Okay! So yes, I'm less than perfect! I had to get rid of the colonies somehow, so that when the Galra attacked, they wouldn't lose their lives in such a horrific mass murder-"

"That's basically what you are!" Star shouted. "Just a mass murderer looking for work!"

"I did it for my people! They'll be reborn across the galaxy, hopefully far from here, they'll be safe.

Emersyn was at a loss now, she had to make an executive decision. She could take him in, to a prison nearby-God knew he needed more than just a prison-, but that would leave the colony defenseless.

She sighed, before she held her head high. "You're under arrest under the order of Voltron. You and your cabinet will be taken in tommorow morning."

______________________

"That was the most, horrific-"

"Backwards-"

"Hellhole ever made."

Team Voltron (the new one) was heading back from their mission. "Why is it that we always get the weird diplomatic missions while our parents got to hang out with mermaids, Arrow?"

"I dunno." He gave a weak chuckle over the comm as Star navigated her lion. She knew for a fact he'd be traumatized for the rest of his life, and she honestly felt bad for him. He had two loving parents, and up to a few months ago, was basically living life to the fullest. "I don't think fate likes us much."

And he had thrown up three times last night because he had just been so grossed out and how hot it was inside the building.

"You can say that again." Lucas answered with a laugh. "What's next, mermaids trying to murder?"

"Who even knows at this point?" Robi asked over the comm. 

"Whatever happens, we need to stick together." Emersyn's less commanding and more joking voice said. "Whether it be crazed leader, murderous mermaids-"

"Furries-"

"That was one mission Star! And what the fuck even is a furry?" Emersyn asked. Robi, Star, and Lucas groaned all at once. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Emersyn had never been to Earth, and only living with Hunk for a year before he went back to live with Shay and Arrow (he had been a baby by then), many human things were distinctly foreign to her. Of course, Shano knew because he'd been texting Leo, but Emersyn had never been curious enough to look over his shoulder, from the looks of it. "You all say it like it's a bad thing."

She heard Lucas grumble over the comm, but Emersyn didn't pick anything up apparently.

Of course, Star wasn't really happy with the way the mission had gone -why were all the cute guys evil!? Or gay, or taken....-, but even she wasn't going to lie. They had grown as a team, everyone had learned something or the other about someone else, and they were stronger as friends and as paladins protecting one another. When Star had threatened to shoot them all down, she hadn't been extremely confident about it. An eleven year old Star had a run-in in a mall with her parents when a man tried kidnapping her. Just saying, for the next five years she didn't dare wander away ever again.

Star questioned who this mysterious Star McClain was from a reality over, which was how her dad had explained it. Really, hats off to her, had she never wandered away, Star as she knew it probably wouldn't exist today. That Star was at least into her twenties by now, and probably chalked it up as a crazy thing that happened to her when she was young.

Passing by a moon, Star noted that Emersyn sped up. Once they had passed the moon, Star knew why.

The castle was locked in a battle with a cruiser, fighters flying around like...well like pesky flies. Her fingers itched to do something as she activated the thrusters, flying forward and taking out a few fighters just for the heck of it.

"Bet I can take out more than you, Robi!" She challenged.

"Ha. Get your twenty bucks ready." The Green lion did the same, her blasters taking out a row at a time. Star was actually worried now, she didn't have twenty bucks to be tossing around then! The others only chuckled before they also joined the betting pool, fighters going down left and right.

"They got back just in time!" Coran announced. Inside the castle, sighs of relief fell over the original paladins, Shano and Leo. "The shields couldn't have taken much more!"

"Bet they have quite a story to tell." Lance nudged Keith, who laughed weakly. 

"They always do." He responded. He wasn't wrong either. They were probably the most interesting group of paladins, but the story that always topped the others were the mermaids. How even, Keith may never have understood.

It was a nice light show, he would have to admit. He was always curious how they looked fighting the Galra Empire in oversized big cats, and to be honest, it looked like cats playing with toys, how big the lions were in comparison to their ships.

Something caught his eye as the battle winded down though. He nudged Lance..and then more rapidly. "What?"

"That's how an ion canon looks before it powers."

"Yeah so-OH!" He immediatly stood, worried. The Red lion was near it, not too far away from still in it's range. Star was so oblivious sometimes and in no way was this the time for it.

~.~ 

As another fighter fell, Star heard her name called frantically by her papa, and turning, she saw a flash of white light.

She saw a glimpse of the other side. It was a bright white when she realized she was white and transparent, a dress similar to Mina's being worn, flowers woven into her hair.

Mina was there, smiling as she lept into her arms. Her grandma and grandfather on her dad's side were there. King Alfor was there, his wife was there. Laraine was there.

Star shook when she realized where she was. Mina stood back on the floor.

"Star?" she asked, coming closer.

"W-what?" Tears were forming now. Was she leaving her parents, leaving the physical world now? It was too early! She wanted to go back!

"You're not leaving your parents, you're not leaving your family, your friends." Mina responded. Star looked into the familar pair of indigo eyes that sparkled as she spoke. "You're not dying. You're what we call on the fringe."

"Fringe...of?"

"Death. And Life. And from the looks of it, you won't be here long."

"What-"

"You're fading already. Your spirit was just disconnected from your body when Red took the direct hit, you hit your head pretty bad and your physical body is in terrible shape right now. I would let you stay here, but dad and papa would never recover."

Looking to her hands, she saw they weren't their, shimmering like her sister's were. They were flying off of her as she faded up to her elbows, and then she saw one last glimpse of her sister, her grandparents, Alfor, as the dark claimed her.

~.~

His heart dropped. Everything was silent when they saw the Red lion go flying after being hit by the canon. His eyes widened when he let himself accept what happened.

Then he didn't.

A scream escaped him as Lance held him back, crying and shaking at the same time as tears ran down his face.

His baby girl.

The little infant that had loved him so, that he had promised he would protect with his life. Falling to his knees, he didn't bother wiping them away. Lance held him though, as they both almost felt a flicker of a flame they had felt all their lives since Star had arrived.

 

It finally flickered out.

~.~


	19. epilouge // unknown

_Struggling for every breath she had, she finally passed out. The flicker of flame she felt flickered out as her eyes closed. Waking again, after what felt like forever, a face hovered above her, worrisome._

 

                                                                              ★

 

_Her dull eyes. Her limp mat of hair. She was barely breathing at this point, the alien machines doing what they could to keep her alive. The girl, the one in the swamp crashed with the large, banged up ship. Almost unwillingly, her eyes closed, the indigo seeping out, but the machines didn't scream like they usually did._

_The young girl was healing, her body rising and falling as each shuddering breath only came in for a short moment. Two months like this._

_Why did he continue to wish she'd live? Was it because of those who had died at his command?_

_Three months later, she woke for the first time._

_"Commander Matthew Holt" He said, introducing himself._

_"Where?" She croaked, her voice raw. The scars that ran along her body were permenant, she would walk, talk, and function like a normal person again, but her body...it would never be clear, a scar running down her face from the crash._

_"Greytonia. Resistance base."_

_She tried to turn her head before hissing in pain and falling in a coughing fit. Once she had come out, she weakly smiled. "Thank you..for...saving me."_

_"No problem."_

_"I...I am Star McClain. I am..I don't know anymore. H-help me, please." Her indigo eyes only showed need, worry, and sadness. They didn't sparkle like they should've. "Please...all..I know is....I am lost."_

_"I'll help you, I promise. Just...get some rest, okay?"_


End file.
